OPL Omits Budget On Over-Budget Library Update
The Ottawa Public Library has provided an update on the Adisoke central library without mentioning if it is on budget.
That’s surprising because at last view the library had jumped in price from $192 million to $334 million and was expected to exceed this price due to rising construction costs. But somehow in the update, the budget was omitted.
That’s actually a step up from a report in December 2023 in which the library said the project was on budget. That overlooked the $142 million jump from the original price. No wonder this report neglects that nagging little issue of money.
So in a nutshell, we have a wildly over-budget project that is expected to rise in price (at least that’s was the OPL said) with no mention of the budget or price in the update. Furthermore it gives only a “high-level” overview the building schedule. From this “high-level”, not surprisingly, it will be finished on time in the summer of 2026.
Just in case it doesn’t quite meet that deadline, the library has the out of saying the former estimates were on conducted from a “high level.” Wonder what level the light-rail project estimates were … high, low, medium, wrong?
The report is below:
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– The Bulldog – News Feed Enter 
The initial budget for the new library is another example of what I refer to elsewhere in the Bulldog as As Instructed. A budget put together on the back of an envelope designed to get it through council. The inevitable budget overages on the project will be handled with the classic “too late to stop now” logic that permeates government spending at all levels.
If that sounds familiar, it is because it is consistent with how former Mayor Jim Watson got the Confederation Line Stages 1 and 2 passed.
This lack of professionalism is a fundamental part of the flawed culture that is endemic to city hall. A culture that the current council is willfully enabling. Which means that the culture of city council is the problem.