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770 Brookfield Road
Following a meeting with representatives from Canderel, I can
advise that they are in a joint venture with the property owner
to develop the site within the current zoning, which is a General
Commercial Zone.
Disconnects were carried out and it is expected that the existing
building will be demolished in the coming weeks.
Preliminary plans are for a 5-storey building or possibly two
buildings. However, marketability will determine the final plan.
Airport Parkway Street Lighting
I am pleased to announce that starting in Spring 2007 street
lights will be added to the Airport Parkway from Brookfield
Road to Hunt Club Road. It is expected that this project will
be completed in Fall 2007.
Walkley Barrier
The South Keys Landing residents raised the issue of closing
off access to the Walkley Plaza because of traffic issues.
One of their concerns is in regard to safety because drivers
are disregarding the stop sign exiting the plaza to access
the private road. To address the problem, a triangular barrier
with a large stop sign will be placed at the centre of the
exit. I encourage Riverside Park residents to observe this
traffic control device and stop before proceeding.
Bank Street Reconstruction
The City of Ottawa, as part of its infrastructure improvements
mandate, has initiated the preliminary and detailed design
for the reconstruction of Bank Street between Riverside Drive and Walkley Road.
The Bank Street reconstruction project will include:
- Rehabilitation/replacement of watermains, sewers and associated service connections.
- Intersection improvements at Walkley Road and Riverside Drive.
- Intersection improvements at Heron Road, including
potential transit priority measures.
- Potential improvements to cycling and pedestrian facilities.
- Reconstruction of Bank Street between Riverside Drive South and Walkley Road.
Here are the details for the Open House to receive comments on the project.
Date: Thursday, February 8, 2007
Time: 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Location: Ellwood Room, Jim Durrell Recreation Centre 1265 Walkley Road
The information available for review will include:
- Summary of existing conditions.
- Limits of proposed study area.
- Explanation of intended works.
- Design and Schedule B Class Environmental Assessment processes
Budget 2007 - Budget Directions Report
City Council received input from 108 public delegations on the
Budget Directions Report on January 10 and 11, 2007. The Budget
Directions Report was approved by City Council on January 15,
2007 and staff were directed to table two draft budgets: one
at zero percent and one which would increase taxes by the rate
of inflation (2.2 percent as of November 2006 - Bank of Canada).
The 2007 Budget Directions Report provided Council and residents
with the details of expected preliminary spending pressures,
the additional costs of maintaining city services, and outlines
potential revenues for the City of Ottawa over the next year.
In addition, the Budget Directions Report provided staff with
guidelines on how to build the draft budget to better enable
and benefit from consultation with residents. The purpose of
this report is to engage and explore public debate on priority
city services and to determine appropriate funding mechanisms.
The Budget Directions Report directed staff to include the cost of:
- Maintaining current programs at current service levels;
- Providing provincially mandated and cost-shared programs;
- Accommodating growth in population or infrastructure demands;
- Enhancing services as directed by Council throughout the year;
- Increasing the equivalent to one percent of taxation
for the contribution to capital used to fund the strategic initiatives category of capital;
- Adjusting user fees at either the percentage increase
in the cost of providing the program or service, or as directed through Council-approved
policy;
- Estimating revenue growth from new properties added to the tax base;
- Deferring a 2007 increase to the corporate efficiency target to 2008; and
- Maintaining the total current level of municipal taxation so that the
city’s credit rating will not be adversely impacted.
To reach the goals approved by the Budget Directions Report staff were directed to:
- Defer service enhancements that have not yet been implemented;
- Utilize provincial gas tax revenues to the fullest extent
possible to offset increases in the cost of transit;
- Use debt where possible to fund capital programs;
- Pursue new revenues from the Province to fully fund their
share of mandatory and cost-sharing programs;
- Identify and incorporate any other one-time sources of funding;
- Increase user fees and charges by more than that identified in Direction 1f; and
- Identify opportunities for program and service reductions
that include options for alternate service delivery.
In addition to the City’s Capital and Operating Budget,
the city requested that the Police Services Board table a draft
2007 Operating Budget that is consistent with fiscal directions
given in the Budget Direction Report.
The report also requested that the 2007 tax-supported draft
Capital Budget be developed in accordance with the Budget Directions
Report and the Long Range Financial Plan III. The administration
was asked to prioritize projects in the strategic initiatives
category and provide a list of all other projects.
The Budget Directions Report also recommends that both the operating
and capital budgets supported by the water/sewer rate take into
consideration the strategies identified in the Long Range Financial
Plan III which include:
- A combined water/sewer rate increase of 9% in 2007;
- An increase in the amount of debt authority applied to the capital program;
- The deferral of projects within the strategic initiatives
category of capital; and
- Allowing the reserve balance to fall below $20 million during the year.
The Budget Directions Report also asked that the City look to
fund one-time 2007 operating requirements through a one-time
transfer from reserves.
Several motions were passed as part of the debate surrounding
the Budget Directions Report. These include:
- A motion to include resources in the 2007 budget to implement
the Air Quality and Climate Change Management Plan;
- A motion to ensure that the $6.3 million for the Ottawa Community
Housing Corporation is excluded from any deferral in funding;
- A motion to post planning applications and supporting documentation
on the City's website making it easier for residents
to participate in discussion and debate around planning;
- A motion to provide information on the economic and safety
implications of approving a 0 percent increase in the water/sewer rate;
- A number of motions were passed to improve the budget
documents and increase usability (including benchmarking,
reorganization, improved comparability and consolidated totals);
- A motion ensuring that the 2007 budget for the Community
and Protective Services Department is based on no funding
reductions to community and cultural agencies;
- A motion to ensure that the 2007 Capital Budget address the backlog in damaged sewer laterals.
City Council also approved the Ottawa Police Service Long Range Financial Plan that includes:
- Approving the forecasting of the Ottawa Police Service operating
expenditure requirements to four years and the capital needs to ten years;
- Approving a user fee policy; and
- Approving the 2007 transfer of Ottawa Police Services debt servicing budget of $5.258 million from the City of Ottawa to the OPS budget.
Draft 2007 Budget Tabled
On February 6, 2007, the 2007 City of Ottawa Draft Budget was
tabled at City Council. The tabling begins over two weeks of
public consultations. City Council will then discuss and approval
the final 2007 Budget on February 26 to 28, 2007.
As Directed by Council, the 2007 Draft Budget puts forward two options:
- $57.9 million of solutions to achieve a 1.7% tax increase; or
- $71.6 million of solutions to achieve a zero percent tax increase.
City Council’s aim, when giving budget directions, was
to present options that ensure the City’s financial sustainability,
maintains the City’s AAA(Moody’s) credit rating and
preserve existing services.
The options tabled propose that City Council consider addressing
the 2007 budget challenges through a combination cuts to general
spending (i.e. to the overall compensation envelope), the use
of debt to fund some capital projects, and continuing with the
implementation of City Council’s policies on OC Transpo’s
farebox ratio.
The Draft Budget moves towards securing Ottawa’s long-term
financial sustainability by maintaining capital reserves at Council-approved
levels and keeping the City’s debt below provincial limits.
The 2007 Draft Budget proposes $2.026 billion in operating spending,
$634 million in capital spending for City Services (excluding
police). This includes $341 million in water and sewer rate-supported
spending for operating and capital requirements, including a
9% increase to the water rate, as approved by City Council in
the Long Range Financial Plan III document.
City Council, as part of its approval of the Long-Range Financial
Plan III, recognized that securing the City’s long-term
financial sustainability requires a multi-year approach.
River Ward Budget Consultation Meeting
I am pleased to host a budget consultation with residents of
River Ward to receive their input toward the 2007 budget and
extend an invitation to all Riverside Park residents to attend.
City Treasurer Marilyn Simulik will be joining me on this occasion.
The meeting details are as follows:
Date: Monday, February 12, 2007
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Ellwood Hall, Jim Durrell Recreation Centre
1265 Walkley Road
Property tax collection dates
Council approved the interim property tax billing due dates for 2007:
Interim property tax payment due: March 15, 2007
Final property tax payment due: June 21, 2007 (tentative)
Ottawa Police/OC Transpo Project Accordian
The Ottawa Police Central East Neighbourhood Officers together
with the OC Transpo Security worked in conjunction on a four-day
project to tackle the ongoing problems with incidents occurring
within buses on OC Transpo bus routes. Officers were in plain-clothes
capacity focused their efforts on this occasion on sixty-foot
buses, commonly referred to as articulated buses. This project
is part of the continuing enforcement targeting specific problematic
routes identified by OC Transpo Security during the late evening
hours from the downtown core.
Following are the charges that were laid during the project:
- 32 Provincial Offence Notices - offences ranged from smoking
in bus shelters and inside the bus, open liquor inside bus
shelters and buses, not providing proof of payment when requested
and trespassing.
- 15 Criminal Code Charges - offences ranged from drug possession
and consumption on the buses, assault, cause disturbance,
obstruction of police, transportation fraud and breaching conditions,
as well OC Transpo Security issued four full system bans from their premises.
The Ottawa Police Service and OC Transpo partner regularly in
developing and implementing pro-active crime prevention strategies
in addition to responding to calls for servie requiring police
intervention on OC Transpo buses and property. We will continue
to work together in finding short and long term solutions aimed
at preventing and reducing crime and disorder problems.
These projects will continue throughout the year as part of
the monitoring with officers in plain clothes riding buses that
have been identified as potential problems in order to assist
in re-assuring the public and to deal with offenders who have
been banned from riding the bus system or loitering transitway stations.
Ottawa’s Service Performance
Recently, City Council received “Where We Stand”,
a performance benchmarking report containing 112 performance
measures for 2005 in 21 different service areas. The comparative
measures were assembled as part of the Ontario Municipal Benchmarking
Initiative (OMBI), and show how Ottawa performed relative to
14 other Ontario municipalities.
The report shows that, overall, Ottawa’s performance compared
well to other Ontario municipalities:
- 46% of measures are better or significantly better than the median result
- 25% are at median
- 29% are below the median
Where We Stand looks at services including by-law, child care,
culture, facilities, fire, fleet, hostels, libraries, long-term
care, parking, parks, planning, police, Provincial Offences Act
Courts, roads, social assistance, solid waste, sports and recreation,
transit, wastewater and water.
This report shows that there are a number of areas where the
City of Ottawa is a leader among Ontario municipalities. For
example, the City’s Utility Services team was recently
recognized by OMBI for best practices that led to substantial
energy and cost savings in water and wastewater services. It
also highlights some areas where the City can do better. The
City will use this information to help find new ways to improve
the way it delivers services.
The City of Ottawa’s participation in OMBI is one of many
performance measurement reports such as the provincial Municipal
Performance Measurement Program (MPMP), the City’s On-Time
Review, Quarterly Performance Reports to Council, and the City’s
Annual Report.
During the past two years, wee have made a lot of progress in
performance reporting, and more work will be done to collect
information on other service areas, such as internal support
services. OMBI is a valuable part of this focus on continuous
improvement. By measuring and comparing its performance year
after year, the City gets a better understanding of where improvements
can be made. It can also share new ideas on how best to make
those improvements. Each set of OMBI measures are being presented
to the appropriate Standing Committee in late January or early
February so that Councillors and interested members of the public
will be able to work with City staff to understand the City’s
results, how service delivery standards are applied, and what
actions are being taken to improve performance.
City of Ottawa Quarterly Performance Report
City Council also received the Quarterly Performance Report to
Council for the third quarter of 2006 (July to September).
The report is part of the City’s commitment to accountability
and transparency. It provides performance information for a
cross section of branches that deliver services to the public
and that are of high interest to Councillors.
The Quarterly Performance Report to Council provides a total
of 48 performance measures relating to 13 branches, including
comparisons of performance results to relevant service standards
or targets. It is produced following the end of each quarter,
and has been designed to provide service level and customer service
information about the core services provided to the public by
the City of Ottawa, as well as information about key internal
services.
A few highlights from the third quarter of 2006 include:
- At the end of September 2006, more people were taking transit,
with ridership year-to-date up 2.7% over 2005, driven by
growth of passes. Student passes that were introduced earlier
in 2006 have sold especially well.
- Buses were on time more often in the third quarter of 2006,
attaining 79.8% on time performance up from 78.4% earlier
in the year.
- The occupancy rate for Emergency Shelters increased by 16%
in the third quarter over the previous quarter, due to the
provision of emergency shelter for Canadians evacuated from Lebanon.
- Since implementation of the “on time review” initiative
in late 2004, the number of Zoning By-law Amendments that reach
Committee within their target timeframes has increased from
52% in both 2003 and 2004 to 77% in 2005. However, for 2006,
staff vacancies in the second and third quarters, along with a 14.6%
increase in the number of development applications received
year to date, have contributed to a lag in processing applications
compared to 2005.
- Police response times to Priority 1 emergencies have continuously
improved over the past two years and into 2006 as the impact
of additional investments in front-line resources, together
with the decline in the number of false alarms, means that
patrolofficers are responding more quickly to emergencies.
Municipal Accessibility Plan
At our last meeting, Council approved the City of Ottawa Municipal
Accessibility Plan 2007 (COMAP).
As mandated by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities
Act, 2005, this plan reports on work undertaken during 2006 to
identify, remove, and prevent barriers that limit the full participation
of residents and visitors who have disabilities. COMAP also describes
2007 projects and multi-year initiatives, which will result in
greater accessibility and inclusion. This is Ottawa's fourth
Municipal Accessibility Plan.
Significant achievements were made in 2006 making it easier
to get around the city: a Community Pass Pilot Program was introduced
providing persons with disabilities on a low income access to
low fare bus passes; 42 audible pedestrian signals were installed
making 25% of intersections with traffic lights equipped for
people who are blind; 100 new low floor buses were purchased,
making the public transit fleet 65% low floor for people using
mobility devices, such as wheelchairs and walkers.
Achievements were also made in making City programs and services
more accessible: through the Shared Care Program, 180 children
with various types of disabilities participated in camp; 1,100
physical barriers were removed from City facilities; and 176
affordable housing units were approved providing nine new, fully
accessible units and a large number of visitable units.
COMAP 2007 proposes the continuation of efforts to increase
accessibility of public transportation services, city buildings
and facilities, sidewalk and intersection infrastructures, housing,
health and fitness programs, employment and other public services.
To prepare the City for meeting standards of provincial accessibility
legislation, COMAP describes work to be undertaken with staff
training, information services and communication systems.
Civic Appreciation Awards
Work has begun on the City of Ottawa 2007 Civic Appreciation
Awards, which annually recognizes and celebrates the achievements
of volunteers in our community in a variety of categories.
The recipients are selected from nominations are sent in by
residents. It’s now time to nominate a volunteer or volunteers
in your community who have contributed to make our community
and our city a better place to live.
Volunteers have a direct impact on many aspects of our day-to-day
life, including health, heritage, education, social services,
arts and culture, sports and recreation, literacy services and
the environment.
You can now complete the nomination form online. Go to ottawa.ca,
Residents, see Volunteering. The deadline for nominations is
Friday, March 30, 2007.
There are sixteen different awards:
Citizen of the Year for Youth, Adult and Seniors
Brian Kilrea Award for an amateur coach
Distinguished Civic Awards for:
Arts and Culture
Community Activism for Youth, Adult, Senior and Group
Education
Environment
Health
Heritage
Humanitarianism
Recreation and Sports
Rural/Agriculture.
The presentation ceremony is scheduled for Monday, May 7, 2007,
6:30-8:00 p.m. Andrew Haydon Hall. A reception is planned for
Jean Pigott Place following the official presentations.
2008 Ontario Summer Games
The City of Ottawa has been chosen to host the 2008 Ontario Summer
Games, the province’s premier multi-sport event and a
training ground for future Canada Games participants and Olympians.
As you know, we also successfully hosted the 2006 Games this
past August.
The Ontario Summer Games have been held across the province
since 1970, providing sports competition for youth between the
ages of 11 and 22. The 2008 Ontario Summer Games will involve
approximately 3,500 participants (athletes, coaches and officials)
from across the province. The Games feature competition in a
number of sports including archery, baseball, basketball, beach
volleyball, canoeing and kayaking, cycling, field hockey, lacrosse,
lawn bowls, rowing, rugby, sailing, shooting, soccer, softball,
tennis, volleyball, and water skiing.
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