Mayoral sparks fly over municipal taxes

A proposed municipal tax freeze raisedthe heat in the campaign for mayorjust a week before Ottawa voters head tothe polls.

During a mayoraldebateat Algonquin College on Monday,candidate Alex Munter askedrivalLarry O'Brien how heplanned to keep his promise of freezingtaxes for four yearswithout cutting services.

O'Brien'smaincompetitors — Munter and Mayor Bob Chiarelli, who did not attend the debate —saythey wouldraise taxes by no more than the rate of inflation.

O'Brien said he will cut costs by not replacing city staff as they retire.

"I'd like to know what you will do when a bus driver retires, when a police officer retires, when a librarian finds a new job," Munter countered. "What are you going to do?"

O'Brien responded that "21st century management" is the key.

"If we find better ways of doing things," O'Brien said, "we can increase the number of policemen on the street without hiring a single additional officer."

Munteralso suggestedO'Brienbackedaway from thefour-year tax freeze promise during an interviewearlier on Monday.

O'Brien toldradio station CFRA that he would freeze taxes "for the first two years as a minimum," and added that he thought a tax freeze was possible for the entire four.

But during the debate, O'Brien insisted that he was committed to the fullfreeze.

"The last two years are going to take a little bit of work," he said, "but you know something? Larry O'Brien has never shied away from a problem… and I will make sure we achieve that goal for the last two years as well."

O'Brien said he will be able to that without cutting services and urged Munter to attend business school as he did to learn how that's possible.

Rookie candidates often promise cuts: economist

At least one economist was skeptical.

Harry Kitchen,an economics professor at Trent University who conducts research on how local governments manage their finances,said rookie candidates are often mistaken about what is available to be trimmed in a city's budget, which includes a lot of relatively fixed costs such as social housing and policing.

"My sense is that most municipalities do not have any fat in their system," he said.

But he said it's not uncommon for rookie municipal candidates to believe otherwise.

"That's a common thing that people outside politics say," he said. "When they get in there they realize 'Oh my God,I didn't realize that it was quite like that,' as a rule."