“We have an epidemic in Canada of overweight kids,” said Christine Boothby, director of operations for Kanata Soccer. “We’re turning sports and facilities into elitist clubs for those with money.”

Boothby was one of over 35 people who gathered at the Mlacak Centre on Nov. 7 to discuss the draft budget, a document that proposes deep cuts to city programs and services as well as steep user fee hikes.

All four west-end councillors, along with city staff, were on hand to answer questions from the audience of mostly seniors, and explain the rational behind the suggested cuts.

The city is looking to find $35 million in savings to keep the property tax increase at 4.9 per cent in 2009 – one per cent for police, two per cent to maintain services and two per cent for infrastructure renewal.

Some of the options include:

• Increasing hall and gym rentals by 35 per cent and pool rentals by 152 per cent for adults and 143 per cent for kids.
• A hike in sports field rentals for children: going from $5.45 per hour to $24.30 per hour.
• Cutting funding from recreation programs by 25 per cent.

Boothby said team sports should be affordable for all families, not just those with more expendable income. She suggested the municipality partner with more community associations or volunteers to fill roles otherwise taken on by city staff.

“We need to start thinking out of the box,” she said.

West Carleton-March Coun. Eli El-Chantiry said his ward is already passing along some tasks to the community and are keeping costs lower than the urban areas.

Kanata North Coun. Marianne Wilkinson reminded the group that the user fee increase is still only one option to balance the budget.

“We've never charged what it actually costs (to run the facilities and programs),” she said. “Because of the budget crunch we have to get closer.”

Kanata South Coun. Peggy Feltmate said it makes more sense to raise user fees than property taxes, as there is only a small percentage of people that use the services, and they should shoulder most of the cost, rather than spreading it to the whole city.

 LIBRARIES

The city should charge residents for borrowing books and videos instead of simply jacking up arena and sports field rental fees, suggested some people at the budget consultation.

Stittsville resident Alberta Walters said the new video games available in Ottawa libraries seems like a waste of money, and said she believes the funds would be better spent on outdoor and team activities.

“It’s better to have children outside using energy or reading instead of inside playing video games,” she said.

However, the money for those games came from a private company’s donation and have no impact on the budget.

“Video games are a small portion of what the library does,” said Ottawa Public Library Board trustee Tony Manera, adding that the library should offer more in a technologically-driven society.

MONDAY MEETING

The city hosted a second public consultation discussing the budget at the Mlacak Centre on Monday night, Nov. 10.

All four west-end councillors said they would reject many of the cuts targeting children’s recreation.

“I don’t think the huge increases for children’s (recreation) put across is likely to pass,” she said.

El Chantiry rejected staff’s suggestion to cancel the $695,000 Outdoor Rinks Grant, given to community groups to maintain the city’s 236 outdoor rinks.

“That’s a small amount of money,” said El-Chantiry. “I don’t feel that item will go very far.”

Qadri said council must look at trimming fat from the program – for instance not paying city employees to put up and take down the boards at the rinks.

“I don’t want any fat built into that program.”

Dale Harley, an advisor for the National Capital Heavy Construction Association, said the city should invest more money in roads.

The city is considering chopping over $55 million from next year’s roads budget by delaying some projects, such as the widening of Campeau Drive from Kanata Avenue to March Road.

Ottawa should take some of the $77 million it received for infrastructure renewal last summer from the provincial government and invest it in roads, Harley said.

“There’s a lot of money going into roads,” said Wilkinson.

“It’s not enough,” responded El-Chantiry.

Michelle Leboldus, a member of the Pinhey’s Point Foundation, said the budget option calling for over $4 million in cuts to arts, culture and heritage disheartening.

She said the lack of funding for museum’s makes it difficult to attract and maintain the museum’s largely volunteer staff.

“What do you want us to do?” she asked. “How to do you plan to deliver a mandated program with no volunteers?”

Leboldus said that every year she is forced to beg the city not to cut funding.

“We’ve done this for years – we’ve begged on our knees; we’re bleeding.”

Two women at the budget consultation asked councillors not to cut child care funding, which will result in a loss of 700 subsidized spaces.

“I’m really concerned about all those 700 families who are going to lose those spaces,” said one of the women. “They are all low-income families.”