June 26, 2009
By Bill O’Malley
Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa Financial numbers for the period ending December 31, 2008
2008 Employee Numbers:
Full-time Funded Positions #13,915
Part-time Funded Positions #1,656
Seasonal Funded Positions #51
The important word here is “FUNDED”
2008 Total Salaries and Wages $940,728,291
Employee Benefits $193,836,577
Unfunded Liabilities pertaining to Post-employment benefits $22,611,960
2008 Total Salaries/Wages and Benefits--$1,157,176,828
2008 Revenues
Revenues from all sources $2,360,708,374
Plus transfer from reserve funds $77,380,691
Total Revenue receipts $2,438,089,065
2007 Employee numbers
Full-time Funded Positions #13,461
Part-time Funded Positions #1,634
Seasonal Funded Positions #50
Despite public statements by the City Manager that positions have been eliminated and employees have been let go, the real numbers reveal that an additional 454 full-time funded position have been added.
2007 Revenues including Reserve Transfer
$2,297,280,941
2007-08 Salaries/Wages and benefits
2007 Salaries/Wages $884,415,199
2007 Employee Benefits $175,534,717
2007 Unfunded Liabilities pertaining to Post-employment benefits $50,559,157
2007 Total Salaries/Wages and Benefits--$1,110,509,073
2008 Salaries and wages increased $56,313,092
2008 Employee Benefits increased $18,301,860
The rise of salaries, wages and benefits from December 31, 2007 to December 31, 2008 is $74,614,952, equivalent to a 7% increase in property tax.
2008 Increase in revenue and fund transfers compared to 2007 is $140,808,124
If you remove the fund transfers from the equation, 2007 total revenue was $2,245,310,236 compared to 2008 revenue of $2,360,708,374. The 2008 increase is $115,398,138 of which $74,614,952 was expensed for employee salaries, wages and benefit increases.
I have previously provided financial ratios in chart form for the City of Ottawa for the period years 2000 and 2007. The 2008 financial numbers confirm little or no progress in controlling spending. In other words, the financial situation has not improved.
It is time to turn up the heat on councillors and city management because this pace of increases in employee expense cannot be maintained any longer.
This is a preliminary look at the 2008 City of Ottawa financial numbers and every effort has been made to reflect the numbers accurately.
Detail information will be published in the coming days.
Bill O’MALLEY
Municipalities Out of Control
The Ontario Tax Reporter
