YOUR VIEWS ON OUR COMMUNITY

YOUR VIEWS ON OUR COMMUNITY

BY MAYOR JIM WATSON

ate last year, I conducted my annual survey through the community papers to determine what you the public had to say about various issues. I would like to thank everyone that took the time to fill out the survey and send it in.

As Mayor of Ottawa, public consultation is something I take very seriously. I believe public consultation should be a dialogue, not a monologue. Although I won't always agree with everyone's point of view, I think that in a democracy it is important to have these kinds of debates.

This survey, together with the daily contact I have with taxpayers gives me a feel for the pulse of the community and helps me make decisions.

The questions posed in this latest survey dealt with three main issues: taxes, municipal reform and budgetary priorities. Here are the results of the survey:

93% respondents said they were in favour of City Council continuing its policy of freezing and eventually reducing taxes as the debt is paid off.
given the choice of a model of municipal government they favoured, 84% approved of the one city, one tier, while 4% voted for three cities without the Region, 3% said three cities with the Region, 1% said status quo and 8% responded other.
asked how the City should use the money generated from a restructured hydro commission, 37% responded the money should be invested and not spent to reduce debt and taxes, 32% said a small portion of the proceeds should be spent on community initiatives like community centres, libraries and parks, 6% favoured spending the entire amount to restore various cuts imposed in the past five to ten years and 25% said they would prefer various other options.

Respondents ranked the following budgetary priorities in order of most to least importance:

Freezing and reducing taxes and reducing the city's debt.
Reducing the number of levels of government in Ottawa-Carleton.
Protecting the environment and promoting "green" initiatives.
Improving municipal infrastructure and maintenance.
Giving a greater priority to community facilities such as parks, rinks, pools and community centres.
Improving library services.
Increasing funding to arts, culture and heritage projects.
Improving safety in neighbourhoods.

CONTACT ME

Jim Watson, Mayor

Tel: 244-5380 Fax: 244-5379

Mail: 111 Sussex Drive

Ottawa, Ont, K1A 5A1

E-mail: watsonj@city.ottawa.on.ca