Bob Chiarelli is promising to freeze property taxes and fees in the first year of his mandate if elected mayor of Ottawa this fall, saying he believes efficiencies can be found in the city's multi-billion dollar budget to cover costs.
The mayoral candidate is also pledging to freeze spending on new projects in year one of the term, including holding off on stage 2 of the Lansdowne Park revitalization project and major road infrastructure work.
"Too many of our citizens are burdened with an inflation rate at a 40 year high and we're finding that thousands of individuals and small business people have had to cut back and do more with less, and they expect the same from their municipal government. "The mandate will be to find efficiencies that will not impact core services and get us through the first year while we put a solid strategic plan together," Chiarelli said in a media release.
CTVNewsOttawa.ca asked Chiarelli if there would be cuts to services to ensure the city of Ottawa stays within its financial envelope. Chiarelli says he is concerned about Ottawa's "bulging debt and the condition/management" of the reserves, noting the deficit has increased to $3.5 billion and the city is spending $240 million a year on interest costs.
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