Horizon Ottawa

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What are budget directions?

At the September 16 Finance and Corporate Services Committee (FINCO) meeting, staff presented the Proposed 2025 Budget Directions, which was drafted by Mayor Sutcliffe's office with very little engagement from members of the public or city council.

Now that these directions have been approved, it will be used as a guiding document for drafting the budget. One of the main issues with this process is that part of the budget directions is setting the overall property taxincrease before making individual budgets, which significantly limits the power of council to invest in the services their residents want to see improved.

How much power do members of the public and city council have at this stage?

While most of the work to craft the budget is done over the summer at the direction of Mayor Sutcliffe, this stage before the draft budget is unveiled is an important opportunity for members of council to share their residents’ concerns and propose new directions for staff in creating the draft budget. After that, it will be harder to make changes.

How can you impact the budget-making process?

You can participate in councillor-led budget consultation sessions where you can voice your concerns to your councillor and tell them what you want to see prioritized in the 2025 budget. Check out the Engage Ottawa website for dates and registration information.

Building a Better Budget Event - Nov. 13

Horizon Ottawa, Synapcity, and the People's Official Plan Coalition hosted a session on November 13th to discuss alternatives to the budget directions proposed by Mayor Sutcliffe and how we can organize for a better budget.

You can watch the panel discussion here.

Public Delegations

You can also sign up to speak as a public delegate at budget tabling meetings coming up over the next couple of months! For more information on public delegations, check out our training page.

Ottawa Board of Health Budget Tabling