Transit and police budgets dominate councillor-led meeting

College Ward councillor Laine Johnson said she has received mixed messages from her constituents about their transit needs.

“For some residents of College Ward, I’ve heard that transit is an area of concern,” said Johnson. “I also now have residents who are telling me they would be happy to pay a 10 per cent tax increase just as long as not one dollar goes to OC Transpo.”

Johnson said constituents’ perception is OC Transpo has mismanaged its portfolio, a perception she does not necessarily agree with.

Councillors Theresa Kavanagh and Sean Devine joined Johnson on Oct. 7 to consult the public on concerns for the upcoming city budget.

The city’s chief financial officer, Cyril Rogers, was also in attendance at the virtual meeting and attendees had their questions filtered through moderator Tim Abray, a senior policy advisor for the city.

The councillors and Rogers were asked why the budget directions report gave such a large range for transit levy and fare increases.

The budget directions report aims to give councillors recommendations to fix a $120-million deficit found in the transit budget.

“The rationale is that if we were to do (just) one thing, we would need a 37 per cent transit levy increase to cover the $120 million (deficit),” said Rogers, who opened the meeting with a presentation on city finances.

Rogers said choosing just one option to cover the deficit was likely not in the council’s plans.

Devine, who represents Knoxdale-Merivale Ward, said councillors would be using a blend of the different actions proposed in the budget directions report to ensure there would not be overly high increases in any one area.

“I believe if we raised transit fares 75 per cent we would be shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Devine.

Devine said if transit fares were to increase by the maximum proposed amount of 75 per cent, the transit service would lose riders.

Councillors were also asked whether Baseline Road would be getting a dedicated bus lane.

“When it comes to the city’s long term plans for transit, Baseline bus rapid transit is still high up there,” said Devine. “That being said, we are still waiting for significant investment from the federal and provincial governments for that to happen.”

Devine said the city could address the issue right now by removing one lane from each direction of Baseline Road and converting them to dedicated bus lanes.

This would speed up bus routes and encourage drivers to take public transit more often, according to Devine.

When the councillors were asked if they would vote against an increase in the Ottawa Police Service budget, Johnson said she would be comfortable asking the police to do more without a budget increase.

“I continue to be concerned about what feels like a double standard for the Ottawa Police Service,” said Johnson.

Johnson said the city asks all its institutions to justify their costs and often asks them to improve services without increasing funding.

“I will continue to likely vote against the police budget,” said Johnson.

The meeting peaked at 93 attendees and the recording was posted on College Ward’s YouTube channel.

Anyone with concerns and questions about the city budget can provide feedback through Engage Ottawa and the College Ward website.

“I really hope you’ll continue to engage throughout the year,” Johnson told people who attended the consultation.

The 2025 draft city budget will be tabled on Nov. 13.