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MANOR PARK CHRONICLE
mAy 2006
Property Assessments and the Ombudsman’s
Report
Everyone in Manor Park will be aware of the very critical report
“Getting It Right”, issued by Ontario’s ombudsman, Mr. André
Marin, on the provincial government’s Municipal Property
Assessment Corporation (MPAC). The ombudsman said that MPAC “is
suffering from a credibility crisis” - that taxpayers were “not
happy”, and “with reason”. The good news was that the ombudsman
considered that “many of the problems that have caused this
discontent can be fixed”. One can hope that the Provincial
government will take action.
The really bad news is that whatever the province does with
respect to fixing the way MPAC functions will not really fix the
biggest problem with property taxes in Ottawa. Ontario is the only
province in the country to have loaded so many services (such as
general welfare assistance, public housing, public health,
ambulance services) on the property tax.
A graphical
representation using 2001 data from Statistics Canada,
illustrating the extent of the problem, is attached. This
affects disproportionably Ontario’s largest cities. Moreover, the
tax itself is one that is recognized to be ‘regressive’, that is,
it does not reflect ability on the part of the taxpayer to
contribute. It is part of my job as your representative to try to
keep the taxes that you pay as low as possible while maintaining
the quality of life that residents of Ottawa expect and want to
protect. I understand that. It is a task that has become
increasingly difficult as this province has solved its fiscal
difficulties in an inappropriate manner and continues to avoid
that fundamental problem.
I encourage you to contact our provincial representatives
regarding both of these matters.
Crime Prevention Forum
On April 8th, I was happy, as Board Chair, to preside as Crime
Prevention Ottawa (CPO) held it’s first event – a Community Crime
Prevention Forum, at St. Paul’s University. The purpose of this
forum was to receive input, from community partner organizations,
as CPO develops a comprehensive City-wide strategic action plan to
address crime and victimization issues in Ottawa. Over 150
participants heard from Mayor Bob Chiarelli, who underlined the
importance of adopting a prevention approach in Ottawa; from
Christiane Sadeler, Executive Director of the Waterloo Community
Safety and Crime Prevention Council who shared the lessons learned
over the last decade in that municipality; and, from Police Chief
Vince Bevan, who reported on the results of a recent survey of
citizen concerns in Ottawa on the issues of crime and community
safety.
For more information about Crime Prevention Ottawa in general or
the Forum in particular, you are invited to visit the website at
http://www.ottawa.ca/city_hall/crime_prevention/index_en.html
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Road Works in Manor Park This Coming Season
This year, St Laurent Boulevard between Montreal Road and Blasdell
Avenue will be resurfaced. This involves removing the top layer or
so of paving and resurfacing – “shave & pave”. This process is
intended to extend the life of the road structure.
Pavement rehabilitation needs are identified using data in the
City’s Pavement Management system (PMA), which includes input from
on-going assessments made in response to public enquiries. The St.
Laurent Blvd from Montreal Rd to Blasdell section was identified
as a current need in the PMA. The section from Montreal Rd to
Hemlock Rd (arterial) was last rehabilitated in 1991, and from
Hemlock Rd to Blasdell (collector) in 1982. With some exceptions,
pavement lifecycles fall into the ranges of:
• Arterials - 15-20 years
• Collectors - 18-25 years
• Locals - 20-30 years.
Rehabilitating in a timely matter will extend the life of the
roadway before full in-depth reconstruction (at four times the
cost) becomes necessary.
Work on St Laurent is expected to start in early June and last 4
weeks weather permitting.
Jacques Legendre
Councillor, Rideau-Rockcliffe
You can communicate with me at (please include a telephone
number):
City of Ottawa
110 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa ON K1P 1J1
Tel: 580-2483, Fax: 580-2523
E-mail:
jacques.legendre@ottawa.ca
Web Site:
www.rideau-rockcliffe.com
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