Mark Sutcliffe is proposing a $10 billion plan to fix and expand the City of Ottawa’s roads, sewer infrastructure and city facilities if re-elected mayor this fall, using a combination of tax revenue, development charges, budget savings and “underutilized debt capacity” to help pay for it. The incumbent mayor unveiled his infrastructure plan on Thursday morning, which includes prioritizing $500 million worth of climate resilient infrastructure, $500 million to improve and restore roads, a $400 million pledge to “advance roughly 6,000 projects” at recreation facilities, and build 150 new parks and four new community centres and recreation complexes. As part of the plan, Sutcliffe says he will create a new Parks and Recreation Committee of council to focus on parks and recreation centres during the next term of council. The City of Ottawa’s 2025 Asset Management Plans identified a $10.8 billion funding gap for infrastructure over the next 10 years. Council increased the capital budgets for infrastructure from $152.4 million in 2017 to $331 million in the 2026 budget. A report for the finance and corporate services committee in June said 99 of Ottawa’s over 130 facilities are currently rated “fair” or lower condition, with 40 facilities requiring full replacement. Sutcliffe’s campaign says the $10 billion infrastructure plan will “fully close Ottawa’s infrastructure deficit.” “This plan will prioritize funding for infrastructure that keeps traffic and transit moving, ensures resiliency against flooding and extreme weather, preserves and enhances community assets including parks and recreation centres, and enables and supports growth, particularly in urban areas near transit.” the campaign said. According to the plan, Sutcliffe’s infrastructure plan will be funded through a “combination of sources,” including tax revenue, rate revenue from water and wastewater bills, development charges, investment from other levels of government, “underutilized debt capacity and reinvested savings and efficiencies.” Last month, Sutcliffe promised to cap property tax increases between 2 per cent and 2.5 per cent in the first two years if re-elected. Sutcliffe’s infrastructure plan includes: Mayoral promises Mayoral candidate Jeff Leiper has promised to introduce a one per cent infrastructure levy on property tax bills if he wins the election. Earlier this year, city staff told councillors that a one per cent infrastructure levy would add $46 a year to the average property tax bill. Leiper has also promised to “fix what we have” with a multi-year plan to address the maintenance backlog and improve parks, lighting and public spaces in neighbourhoods. Neil Saravanamuttoo’s plan to “cut waste and keep taxes low” included a promise to have an “honest conversation about our infrastructure deficit.” Saravanamuttoo says he will develop a “comprehensive infrastructure plan” after opening the books and installing a “culture of efficiency at City Hall.” Candidate Alex Lawson has said he would push to build a southern ring road around Ottawa. As part of his rural policy platform, Lawson also promised to improve rural infrastructure maintenance. “Mark had four years to invest in critical infrastructure but instead he let it rot in the ground while he spent our money on things we didn’t need. Now he’s asking us to believe he’ll fix the problems he let linger using debt instead of the money he already wasted,” Lawson said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa. “My fiscal plan will be out soon, and it will focus the city’s spending on getting the basics right, so I don’t need to come begging hat-in-hand for another chance four years from now.” With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Ted Raymond and Dylan Dyson
