Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe will make an announcement today on the 2025 budget directions.
He will be joined by City Manager Wendy Stephanson and Chief Financial Officer Cyril Rogers at Ottawa City Hall at 11:30 a.m.
The 2025 budget directions are set to be brought before the Finance and Corporate Services Committee on Sept. 16 and full city council on Sept. 18. The directions will outline how the 2025 budget will be drafted, including possible caps on increases to property taxes and other tax-supported programs.
In the last two budgets, Sutcliffe kept tax increases capped at 2.5 per cent, which was an election promise. He did not, however, make a promise for the 2025 or 2026 budgets.
This announcement comes on the heels of a month-long campaign by Sutcliffe calling on the federal and provincial governments to provide more money to the City of Ottawa through payments in lieu of taxes (PILT) for government-owned buildings and additional funding to bolster the transit system.
Last week, a presentation to city council said there $99.2 million shortfall over the past five years related to federal and NCC properties in Ottawa. The city is estimating a funding shortfall of $252 million to $445 million over the next 10 years unless the federal government changes the PILT formula. Sutcliffe is also calling for $140 million a year over the next three years from the Ontario and federal governments to support transit.
In August, Sutcliffe said if the funding does not come through, it could mean a 37 per cent hike to the transit levy, equivalent to a 7 per cent increase to property taxes.
The 2025 draft budget is scheduled to be brought before city council in November, with final approval in December.