BUDGET 2021 HIGHLIGHTS

BUDGET 2021 HIGHLIGHTS

WARD 20 INVESTMENTS IN 2021

Essential Services

  • The City would hire 14 full-time paramedics - part a commitment to hire 54 additional paramedics during this Term of Council.
  • Draft Budget 2021 promises continued support to add 85 new police officers over the course of this term, with 30 to be hired in 2021.

 

Infrastructure

  • Funding to maintain and renew assets such as roads, sidewalks and City facilities will increase by $25 million this year – bringing us to $171 million invested in 2021.
  • $45 million to resurface roads, up from the yearly average of $35.5 million in the last Term of Council
  • $28 million to renew roads infrastructure, allowing for a cost savings by coordinating needed sewer and road work
  • $40 million to support rural infrastructure, an investment on par with the four-year average of $39.7 million
  • $6 million to upgrade and improve parks

I’m also happy to announce specific funding for projects in Osgoode Ward that I believe many of you will be happy with.

 

Bank Street – Rideau Road to Mitch Owens Road Watermain and Road Construction Project

 

Road Resurfacing

  • $4.1 million to repave Bank Street between Snake Island road and Mitch Owens roads
  • $2.7 million to repave River Road between Flag Station and Mitch Owens roads
  • $1.3 million to repave Blanchfield Road between Snake Island and Stagecoach roads
  • $770,000 to repave Parkway Road between 9th Line and York’s Corners roads
  • $690,000 to repave Gregoire Road between Carleton Corner Lane and Marvelville Road
  • $415,000 to renew the Sale Barn Road bridge culvert at Reaney Court and The Parkway
  • $330,000 to repave Hawthorne Road near Leitrim Road
  • $180,000 to repave Blais Road east of Bank Street
  • $40,000 to upgrade the gravel road on Alfalfa Street between Boyd Road and Lawrence Street
  • $3.5M to improve the intersection of Bank Street and Mitch Owens Road
  • $200,000 to improve the intersection of Bank Street and Rideau Road
  • $18,000 to replace streetlight poles along Snake Island Road and Nixon Drive
  • Widening Bank Street between Leitrim and Dun Skipper roads, part of an $18.9 million project
  • $4.025M for Bridges and Culverts

 

Traffic Calming

  • $50,000 to support traffic-calming projects such as Digital Speed Display Boards

 

Parks And Facilities 

  • $1.75 million to build Leitrim Park 2;
  • $1.2 million to replace the rink floor and boards at Osgoode Community Centre and Stuart Holmes Arena
  • $750,000 to build Quinn Farm Parks
  • $1.2 million to build Buckles Street Park;
  • $305,000 to build Cedar Lakes Park;
  • $304,000 to build Ovation Park;
  • $287,000 to build Leitrim Park 9
  • $150,000 to replace the play structure at Bramble Lane Park

All these investments are vital projects for our ward, and I’m very happy to present these items to my residents.

 

2021 Budget Statement

2020 has been a year unlike any we have ever experienced. In cities across Canada, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a financial toll on residents, businesses and local government. Municipal services are critical in the pandemic response, reinforcing how greatly residents rely on the City. 

In December, Ottawa City Council met for the last time in 2020. Within this meeting, we approved the 2021 Operating Budget, which maintains services that meet the community’s evolving needs, while limiting the property-tax increase and delivering on Council’s promise to keep increases at three per cent. Budget 2021 strikes a balance between supporting evolving community needs during this pandemic and delivering essential municipal services, while also advancing Council’s priorities. This is integral, both to our community’s recovery and to Ottawa’s future prosperity. Other important issues were also debated at Council, which I believe are of interest to Osgoode Ward, such as the Ward Boundary Review https://www.georgedarouze.ca/blog/ward-boundary-review-update, where we were able to confirm the FEDCO motion, ensuring the majority of Cumberland Ward stays attached to Orleans, and the business plan for OSEG at Lansdowne Park.

The year ahead still poses challenges and contains many unknowns, but decades of careful financial stewardship have made Ottawa resilient. With the continued commitment from our federal and provincial partners, we are on solid ground as we work towards a vibrant future and continue to meet the challenges of the changing world we live in.

For more information on the Ward Boundary Review, please click on the following link:

Please see my website for more information regarding the Budget: Budget Highlights | George Darouze - Osgoode Ward Councillor