Ottawa homeowners
can expect to see a three per cent increase on the municipal
portion of their property tax bill this year after city
council passed the 2019 operating and capital budgets on
Wednesday.
The three per
cent increase equates to an additional $113 for the average
home with a market value assessment of $404,000. Rural ratepayers
can expect to pay an additional $93.
A third of the
increase, or one per cent, will generate $10 million a year
which will be used to pay for infrastructure maintenance
and renewal. The rest will be used to cover additional costs
due to growth and salary increases.
Besides the tax
increases, Ottawa residents will also see a 2.5 per cent
increase in OC Transpo fares, recreation and other user
fees, licenses and permits. Water and sewer bills will also
go up this year. The water portion will increase by four
per cent, the sewer portion will go up five per cent and
the stormwater portion will increase by 9.8 per cent.
Among
the highlights of the 2019 budget are...
- $1.6 million
committed to the Temporary Traffic Calming Measure Program,
with each Councillor receiving $50,000 for initiatives in
their respective wards
- Providing funding
for 32 new police officers to support crime prevention,
community policing and traffic safety
- Funding for
arts, heritage and festival organizations will increase
by $250,000, increasing the total annual funding to $12.4
million
- Maintaining
$26 million in funding to local agencies to fund housing
and homelessness supports and services to residents
- Sundays, in
addition to Wednesday, will be “no fee” days for seniors
on transit
(This story
was made possible thanks to the generous support of our
local business partners.)
FREE
FAMILY BUDGETING WORKSHOP hosted by the Community Pentecostal
Church /Christians Against Poverty(CAP), 1825 St Joseph
Blvd. at 6:30 p.m. Learn how to save and pay off your debts
workshop. For more information call 613-837-3555.
FIRST CHOICE will
entertain from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at the Orléans Legion,
800 Taylor Creek Dr. for your listening and dancing pleasure.
Buffet dinner served from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. For reservations
call 613-590-7227.
COMMUNITY
FUNDRAISER hosted by the Royal Oak Pub Orléans in
support of Habitat for Humanity from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. Community
BBQ with live bands and a silent auction...The action starts
at 1 p.m. with the first musical act. House band Mandie
& JF and the Chris Evans Band will take to the stage starting
at 7 p.m.!! Come have some fun and show your support!!
ORLÉANS
CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on June 6 and
7 and from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, June 8 in the
Centrum Blvd. Festival Plaza. Presented by Orléans
Festivals and the Heart of Orléans BIA featuring
craft beer from 29 different craft brewers. Food vendors
will include Orléans own Meatings BBQ. Live music
all three days. For more information visit 
