Reflection on the last few months
As many of you know, I am marrying my angel Colleen this weekend.
During the busy and exciting time ahead I won’t have much time to blog but I did want to take this opportunity to reflect on the last few months – we have been busy and we have made some real progress for the City of Ottawa!
This past week was very satisfying for those at City Hall who are committed to improving our local government. The secrecy and back room deals of the past, which hid the performance of the previous administration, are now a thing of the past. But we still have some significant and perhaps even healthy conflict at City Hall. Never before has the contrast between the tax and spend Councillors versus the more prudent and ‘willing to cut’ Councillors been so evident. But this difference of opinions can be illuminating and important as we move forward and from time to time I have to say vive la difference.
Wednesday was a great example of where we managed to get a lot of work done despite the political differences between us. Yesterday we approved a number of very important recommendations and motions during our Council meeting. This is a good indication that Council is getting good work done. And we are doing this despite the constant obstreperous action by ideologically opposed Councillors. We have done much but there is still a lot of work to be done to give the citizens in Ottawa a government they deserve. My enthusiasm for change is stronger than ever now that we have moved forward on transit and finally have some opportunities to make real changes in finance and governance.
Budget Directions and Finance
On a vote of 15-6 Councillors supported my motion directing City staff to cap the total number of employees and deliver options to reduce the organization staff by 500. Council also directed staff to come back with options ranging from $19 million to $57 million to reduce the 2009 tax rate.
Yesterday Councillors realized we must consider staff cuts and service cuts to bring our financial house in order. Cutting staff is both prudent and necessary to deliver the most cost-effective services to the taxpayers of Ottawa. The six Councillors who voted against this wise motion were Councillors Holmes, Hume, Doucet, Feltmate, Cullen, Legendre.
The same motion cleared the way for Council to finally get away from a budget process that hides mistakes in a blizzard of data. At last citizens will finally have some way of easily understanding the status of the City’s finances. This is finally good news for those of you in the City of Ottawa who have given up trying to figure out our finances in a business-like fashion. That debate of business vs. government is always a good one.
I have learned that municipal government is not a business. The city government is rather an important extension of our family room and gives us the life style we desire. But there should be some similarities. What city government should have in common with our homes and our business is a hate of waste and inefficiency. Those of us on Council that hate waste want to make changes that will enable us to offer better value to our citizens and recover from the first wasted years of amalgamation. And now it’s time to tackle the big issues.
Governance
My business experience has taught me that you can judge the potential for the long-term success of any organization based on the quality of their decision-making. This is where the difference between our Councilors will start to become even more apparent. There are some that hate change and are quite happy not making decisions in a clear and effective manner. They like big government and they have no interest in making it smaller and better. I think these Councillors are quite wrong and it will be my job to convince them this will be good for the citizens of Ottawa.
About two weeks ago I announced my third Mayor’s Task Force focusing on City management and governance (click here for more information on this Task Force). They are an outstanding group of people who will provide Council and I with an independent set of recommendations to improve Ottawa.
Over the past two weeks the Task Force on Governance has been busy meeting with Councillors. The members will continue to meet weekly as a group to examine the current governance model at the City of Ottawa and develop recommendations to fuel the debate this fall.
This is my third Task Force ( Mayor’s Task Force on Transportation Report and Mayor’s Task Force on eGovernment Report) and I can tell you that Ottawa is fortunate to have some of the brightest minds in the country volunteering their services to improve our City. Transit, IT and now governance will be better as a result of the hard work and insight these task force members deliver.
Transit
Another important debate taking place this fall will be the implementation of the City’s new transit network.
Council’s vote of 19-4 in favour of this new plan will see our City literally transformed by improving congestion from the core-out with the use of a downtown tunnel. My Council colleagues and I worked hard with City staff to develop a vision that encompasses all of Ottawa. The vision is now clear and we now need to aim our energies at the execution of our vision.
One of the most important recommendations from the Mayor’s Task Force on Transportation was the formation of an independent authority to provide professional and skilled leadership to our hard working transit organization.
Transit Commission
It’s now time to get transit governance right. Fortunately we are going to have the chance this fall to debate the pros and cons of a commission because by a vote of 18-0 with 2 dissents Council directed staff to review transit commission or authority options for the City. This is very good news for transit riders in Ottawa. The management and leadership of transit over the past ten years has been very troubling with both client satisfaction and financial performance declining.
The mission of an independent transit commission would be to create the most cost effective and user friendly transit system in North America. Now that we have a great technical framework for transit, it is time to bring in good leadership to move this forward quickly and effectively. I believe a commission is important for the City of Ottawa.
Plasco Conditional Contract
I have always said “Cities have too much waste and not enough energy.” This observation could very well change for every city in the world if the Plasco technology meets my expectations.
Yesterday Council unanimously supported a letter of intent to enter into an agreement with Plasco Energy Group to take 400 tones of waste a day and transform it to energy. This project has real potential and will move forward if the technology is proven and approved by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.
If Plasco works it will change the world of waste management forever. Over the past 19 months Council has changed the debate on waste and I am pleased we are taking the necessary steps to divert garbage from our landfills and preserve our environment for the future. Not only that I believe the clean energy and environmental industries will be the next high-tech boom in Ottawa and Plasco could be our next Mitel.
I am proud of being able to help Councillors like Shad Qadri, Marianne Wilkinson, Eli El-Chantiry and Peggy Feltmate as they lead the battle against the landfill sites in Ottawa.
Needle Clean –Up
Yesterday Council also approved a new clean needle program. We will be providing $100,000 in funding for picking up discarded needles and we also approved $50,000 to identify a safer model of needle handouts.
I am pleased to see my colleagues recognize the value of the report by our newly appointed Medical Officer of Health Dr. Isra Levy. This report is a result of teamwork and a common vision of improving safety for the citizens of Ottawa.
I am delighted Dr. Levy has taken on the role of MOH. I have had many fascinating conversations with him and find him easy to work with. Congratulations Dr. Levy and I look forward to working with you in this new capacity.
Major Projects Approved by Council
Over the past few months their have been some milestone projects that have been delayed for political and other inappropriate reasons. The highest profile project is the Congress Centre:
Council has shown strong support for the redevelopment of the Ottawa Congress Centre with a $40 Million contribution to the project. With the renewed Centre we will be able to welcome the world to Ottawa, increase tourism and promote economic development.
Another exciting element to this project is the Centre’s recent announcement of their efforts to develop an environmentally friendly and green meeting facility.
The new Congress Centre will set a high standard for new convention facilities in Canada and across the world!
Algonquin College:
This week Premier Dalton McGuinty announced the Province’s contribution of $35 million to support the building of a new trades centre at Algonquin College.
Ottawa’s contribution to this project was the donation of a parcel of land near OC Transpo’s Baseline station and $5 million in funding for a pedestrian footbridge across Woodroffe Avenue. We will be linking the Baseline Station in with our new transit network and the City is proud to play a key role in moving this exciting project forward.
Lansdowne Park:
Over the past several months we have had an unprecedented amount of public consultation over the future of Lansdowne Park and have heard many different opinions.
I would like to see football here but also want to take a long-term view of the use of these 40 acres of park. Is there a better place for the stadium? Our issue now is to find a solution that meets the needs of the residents living close by and residents citywide for a world-class area we can all be proud of and enjoy.
As you can see, City Hall has been busy working for you and I would like to congratulate my colleagues for making such great progress despite the clear differences of philosophy between many Council members. This healthy tension is good and we are now dealing with opposing views in a much more transparent manner and staying away from those back room deals and secrecy. To all of you who have helped make this past three months so productive a warm and heart felt thank you.
And now I can relax and get ready for a wonderful day when I marry my angel.
June 28th, 2008 at 7:58 am
Surely there is a better way to approach the issue than slandering city council. Engaging in a healthy debate is a normal part of a democratic society. Failing that, it seems that the preferred approach is to slander others. Posting backbiting comments on a blog about one’s colleagues is akin to passing nasty notes in grade school and what kind of example of leadership is this? This is not acceptable behaviour from our elected officials. Rather than deflecting blame onto city councillors as intended, all these comments do is reflect a stunning lack of maturity and a refusal to work with others to develop real solutions.
I also wonder how the 500 people whose jobs are on the chopping block feel to be characterized as waste? Ottawa deserves better than this.
June 28th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I am please to read the Mayor’s thoughts on the value we get for our municipal taxes and fees, or lack thereof. I agree the administration still needs a lot of education, transformation, and plain old tightening up so many years after amalgamation. I think it would have been more positive to name the councillors who voted for the budget directions as well as the councillors who voted opposed it. We need to be reminded which councillors support the Mayor’s plan. I study the budget each year, see some improvment, but am disappointed by the glacial pace. Need it take a whole generation to replace the old style bureacracy? Let’s hope the Mayor can keep up the pressure for change.
June 28th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Well done Mayor. I have seen little in the way to justify the rise in property taxes during the past 10 years. There are some very hard workers employed in the City of Ottawa, unfortunately those numbers are small. The easiest and quickest way to save money is to reduce the payroll.
Budget Direction is an important issue. I want to know who voted against job cuts. I want to know who are the “tax and spend” councillors by name. Councillor Feltmate, don’t count on my vote next time.
As far as those people who will lose their jobs……it’s too bad, but if you are really talented, and willing to work hard, and take pride in your work, then I doubt you will have any problems finding a new job.
June 28th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Mayor O’Brien says: “Cutting staff is both prudent and necessary to deliver the most cost-effective services to the taxpayers of Ottawa.”
Leading by example would suggest that you put your name at the top of the list. The city administration has already cut enough positions; you can’t cut positions without cutting services.
The Ottawa Citizen could not find one member of council who supported your statements about the councillors who voted against this motion.
You keep appointing task forces to do the job YOU should be doing, that is building a cohesive council and leading in new directions. Your obvious lack of political and governance experience is showing through and Ottawa looks bush league because of it.
While I have a great deal of respect for the Office of Mayor, it does not extend to the man in this case.
What you have convinced me of though, is the foolishness of electing a right-wing business person to political office.
Your Task Force on Governance will undoubtedly attack the democratic, accessible and relatively transparent processes that govern our municipality and are quite understandable to the average citizen.
I predict that the Task Force’s recommendations will attempt to concentrate power in the hands of a few of your cronies and right-wing ideologues in the name of “efficiency”, a handy catch-all phrase like “security”.
If you want to improve governance in the City of Ottawa, quit now. And close the door behind you.
June 28th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
I’m all for delivering the most cost-effective services to the taxpayers of Ottawa!! I think it should be done by motivating Councillors and not trying to intimidate them but throwing mud at them on your blog.
June 29th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
I am really appalled (not the first time) by your comments. You are supposed to be a leader and all that you have done is position yourself on an island apart from your elected team and pit one against the other. Your comments are very patronizing and self-promoting (so what else is new). You have clearly and consistently demonstrating that you really do not know what you are doing.
June 30th, 2008 at 9:04 am
DGood Morning, Your Worship -
Congratulations on your recent nuptuals, Your Worship -
Question: During the last election campaign, you pledged to the Carleton Landowner’s Association to support a referendum on de-amalgamation, in the case that outstanding Rural issues were not addressed during the first 18 months of your term.
I think it is clear that with the city’s recent reversal regarding forced and uncompensated wetland re-designations in the rural areas, that both the performance and time-based criterial for the promised plebicite have been met.
May I expect to see your motion put forward in the near future?
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:32 pm
I particularly like the line, “The secrecy and back room deals of the past, which hid the performance of the previous administration, are now a thing of the past.”
This is a well-sculpted sentence that on the one hand separates the current administration from the administration of the past, but on the other binds both administrations through their separate back room deals. The connection between the old administration and back room dealing is clear. O’Brien attempts to distance his administration from such deals, and thus endeavours to morally elevate his administration over the previous one.
However, if we recall O’Brien’s special ‘gathering’ with 13 councillors regarding the city’s fiscal future last October, then we realize that the morality of this administration is not so distant from the previous one. Rather, it is quite similar. Their “coffee and a donut” gathering doesn’t preclude the fact that a majority of the councillors met behind closed doors. O’Brien’s administration is guilty of that which it accuses the previous administration.
In either case, any instances of back room dealing are situated, quite solidly, in the past and, in his words, are now a thing of the past. Since he is making this statement now, and not at the beginning of his term, then we can only hope that from this point in time and into the future there will be no more back room dealing.
Bravo! O’Brien has managed to clean his slate of any back room dealings, his or the previous administration’s, and rhetorically promises that such dealings will be no more (from this point forward, I remind you)…let’s see how long he can keep this promise.
July 3rd, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Well done Larry ! It is about time that someone took action to reduce the rank and file at City Hall - may I suggest that you start by getting rid of Kent Kirkpatrick? I think there are far more than 500 employees who could be cut and it is time that we reduce first at City Hall - before automatically raising our taxes to support such a ridiculous payroll! If it means that services are to be cut - so be it! Get our City finances in order fiusrt and foremost - REDUCE THE PAYROLL !
Keep up the great work Larry ! A lot of the Councillor’s and the City manager may be against you (they have all been around way too long - and have neglected their duties), but the majority of residents are with you 100%
Kevin Shea
Ottawa
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:02 pm
My concern about cutting 500 jobs is that it will result in cuts to services that affect the quality of life in our city.
In real terms, that could leave newborn babies and their mothers without enough community health nurses; youth without activities that keep them off the streets; libraries without enough staff; seniors without services that help them stay in their homes, and on, and on . . . .
July 5th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
This City is near bankrupt - thanks to the current crop of Councillors and City Manager who have been around for years - it’s time to cut staff and services if that is what is needed to get our finances in order ! If we don’t have the money - we should not be buying on credit - and that goes for libraries and everything else as well !