Ottawa Mayor Proposes Budget Amid $10.2 Billion Infrastructure Shortfall

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has unveiled his proposed budget directions for the City of Ottawa, emphasizing a need for a 3.75 percent increase in overall property taxes. This increase aims to support essential services for the city’s residents while assembling a total budget of $5 billion for the year 2026. The city’s finance and economic development committee will address these proposed directions on September 2, 2023, followed by public consultations and the formal draft budget slated for November. A final decision regarding service levels, taxes, and fees will occur in December, marking the last budget from this city council before the upcoming municipal elections.

While the budget proposal outlines necessary funding to maintain services, it notably lacks a plan to address the city’s deteriorating infrastructure. This is a pressing concern, as the City Council recently received a comprehensive report detailing the state of various public assets through 10 Asset Management Plans. The findings revealed a staggering funding shortfall of $10.2 billion over the next decade needed to maintain and replace aging facilities and equipment.

The average age of Ottawa’s arenas and rinks is approximately 45 years, while aquatic facilities average 40 years. Community assets, which include community centres and fieldhouses, are around 39 years old. Cultural assets, by contrast, are aging even more dramatically, with an average age of 62 years. Alarmingly, reports indicate that 34 arenas and ice pads—about 14 percent—are in poor or very poor condition, along with 172 community assets and 22 cultural assets, both at 17 percent and 22 percent respectively.

Despite efforts to allocate funding for the maintenance and enhancement of recreational and cultural facilities, the Recreation and Cultural Services Asset Management Plan reveals an annual shortfall averaging $87.5 million. This gap underscores the reality that the city is not investing sufficiently to keep its public assets in good repair.

The current budget directions do not address these critical issues, setting the stage for a significant challenge ahead. The expectation is that a funding plan to address the infrastructure shortfall will be presented in 2028, three years after the problem was identified. In the interim, Ottawa’s facilities continue to age, with extended closures for repairs exacerbating the situation.

Addressing the maintenance and investment needs of the city’s public assets is urgent. As the budget discussions move forward, city council faces mounting pressure to confront these infrastructure challenges head-on. It would be a dereliction of duty to avoid such responsibility, and the 2026 budget presents an essential opportunity to make meaningful progress in this area. Alex Cullen, a former city councillor from 2000 to 2010, emphasizes the necessity of prioritizing infrastructure investment to meet the expectations of Ottawa’s residents.