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LISTEN to the Ottawa TAG Debate where Councillors Cullen and Wilkinson defend the city's Legal Extortion. Part1 Part2

LEGAL EXTORTION BY OTTAWA CITY HALL?

Property taxes to exceed mortgage payments! City of Ottawa staff wages up 50% in 8 years? Is this Legal Extortion? Do we have a say in the increase to fund the growth in wages and non-core services? Is this money taken from us through a threat of fines and other legal actions? In 2007, Ottawa had the highest property tax and utility average in Canada. Taxpayers paid 50% more than the average; higher than Toronto, Brampton, London, and Hamilton. Is this Legal Extortion?

Is this Legal Extortion? The reasons for this deterioration in financial health of the city are:
Accumulated sick leave is up 72% to $92 million
Accrued payable pension is up 45% to $156 million
Accrued WSIB Claims are up 43% to $66 million
Employment benefits are up 83% to $193.8 million
Total compensation up 58% to $1,136,178,000
Many Ottawa citizens in the high tech sector have had to take lower paying jobs, others have seen a modest wage growth of 13% in 8 years. Contrast this with a city employee that has seen average compensation rise from $52,010 in the year 2000 to $78,120 in the year 2008. Is this 50% increase legal extortion?

More on Our Mandate For The New Budget & Finance Committee

It is possible to request information from the City Clerk, however we need reports that compare the budget to actual money spent for high value budget line items, as well as actual spends for the same line item on previous years. We also need access to reports to be discussed at the committee level so that we the public can also prepare. At the moment many people send ideas to Council but there is no process for a formal public response by staff. For example we have suggested that the City lay off some staff and form their own arms length consulting corporation and no one has provided a response. A public committee that is also attended by the media will be a big boost for democracy at the municipal level.

The new Committee should be heavy on Audit and Savings and not finance which is an umbrella for evaluating new spending initiatives.

If there is no support for a separate committee then perhaps every other meeting of this new committee should be focused only on Audit and Savings. We do not want to compete with groups looking for money.
This is an opportunity for our members and others interested in freezing taxes to hold our City accountable. The current system where each Councillor may sometimes forward an email or phone call they receive to staff indirectly leads to censorship of the taxpayer since people get frustrated when nothing is done, we need a public forum that gives visibility to what staff is doing about each issue that is raised.

We contacted Councillors about public input at each Committee meeting and we have summarized our impression of their comments below:

Councillor Alex Cullen - No, Councillor Bob Monette – Maybe, Councillor Christine Leadman – No, Councillor Eli El-Chantiry – No, Councillor Gord Hunter – No, Councillor Marianne Wilkinson – Maybe, Councillor Rob Jellett – Supportive and Mayor Larry O'Brien - Supportive

Ottawa TAG Feedback on Proposed Budget Process

Issue: The budget call for both separation and acceleration of the water and sewer rate. Response: The public should be informed of the increase in revenue derived from property taxes and user fees (Hydro, Water & Sewer, Development Charges, Bus Fares, and Community Centre Fees etc.). Only stating the increase from property taxes is misleading and hides the true rise in the cost of living that is a direct result of spending by Council.

Issue: The budget calls for the inclusion of figures for 2 previous years. Response: There should be separate monthly documentation to assist Council in managing the top 10 departments that are most responsible for the rise in compensation. Since amalgamation the City’s spend on wages has risen 50%. Departments and services that have seen a more than 50% rise should have show figures for every year since 2001, with an aim to reduce their spending on wages to at least the City average.

Issue: The budget calls for a minimum 2% increase in property taxes. Response: This is contrary to the mandate of our current Mayor. Staff should submit a zero percent increase budget. This is an opportunity for innovative administration by city management. Being told that there will be a minimum increase is 2% is “discentive” rather than an incentive for them to do a better job of managing costs.

Issue: The budget calls for the budget to be presented on a functional basis with operating and capital costs combined. Response: It is a helpful to combine operating and capital costs; however the budget should be service based. Departments like Finance, HR, Information Technology, Planning, Management, and Facilities Maintenance should be accounted for based on the amount of time they spend supporting each service. These departments are not a service delivered to the public, but they only support services that the public receive. This way the Head of each service can be measured by their ability to control the support costs.

ottawa taxpayer advocacy group