You Work For Us, Your Worship: MULVIHILL

So, let’s see if we can understand this.

The City of Ottawa has a $10.4-million surplus in the first six months of 2024. The surplus is due to staff vacancies, higher residential water consumption and lower winter maintenance costs. Residents should be over the moon with this windfall but could this surplus be transferred to programs that might need a buck or two? There are myriad of areas that could use a little help:

* Public transit is so bad that roads are bumper-to-bumper chock full of cars;

* Potholes are flourishing ($375 for a front tire, thank you very much);

* Weeds have overtaken many public areas;

* Residential household waste is reduced to three bags every two weeks;

* LRT remains a distant dream;

* Hundreds of millions are to be paid to unknown LRT contractors for secret settlements …

The list could go on but you get the drift.

It seems that only with additional fees and charges or lower costs can this city realize financial mediocrity. Understanding that circumstances change throughout the year, perhaps it would be wiser to budget for more rather than averaging costs with a reasonable increase thrown in for good measure.

There are salaries, benefits, supplies, maintenance, utilities, and associated increases for all expenditures to be considered but if programs are in the red, a closer analysis case-by-case must be included in each budget process to gain a clearer understanding. Perhaps this is done, perhaps this isn’t but if there isn’t enough money in the budget to fix the potholes or clean up the weeds or cut the grass or pick up garbage, then something isn’t working.

To direct staff to prepare a budget with a 2.9-per-cent tax increase (without transit) is unrealistic. At some point reality hits home. Our city is in a sad state of disrepair but yet pet projects take precedence. Why? The city’s reserves are nearly depleted and financial destitution is on the horizon.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and every single councillor works for and must answer to residents.

Something has to give.

Donna Mulvihill is a community activist and former hospital coordinator

For You:

LRT Can’t Support Sens At LeBreton: READER

We’re Entering The Post-Transit Era: PATTON

Plante Takes A Stand In Gender Wars

Bookmark The Bulldog, click here