The City’s Emergency Preparedness and Protective Services Committee today approved its portion of Draft Budget 2024 investing in emergency response and readiness to support community safety and security. The City’s emergency and protective services would have a net operating budget of $373.8 million in 2024 and capital investments totalling $16 million.
The draft budget commits $2.4 million to hire new Ottawa Paramedic Service staff and the equipment to support them. This includes hiring nine new paramedics to address increasing response volumes, three staff devoted to workplace wellness, and nine staff for infection prevention and control. Additionally, seven temporary community paramedic positions would be made permanent. The City would invest $975,000 to replace paramedics’ emergency medical equipment and spend $503,000 on their equipment and vehicles, including hybrid, emission-reducing emergency response vehicles.
The draft budget provides $2.2 million to add 12 full-time staff at the new fire station serving the communities of Kanata North and South March, and $2.7 million to renovate, maintain and equip the Stittsville Main Street fire station. The City would invest $2.6 million to repair and renew Ottawa Fire Services’ buildings to increase resilience to severe weather, and $4 million to renew fire equipment and to replace gasoline-powered equipment with battery-powered alternatives when possible.
The City would invest $4.5 million to establish a new automated speed enforcement processing centre fully funded by program revenues, to give the City more control over how quickly tickets could be issued, increasing revenues from speed camera charges that will be reinvested in road safety programs. The draft budget also commits $510,000 to hire four new By-law Services staff to support increased call volumes, and $259,000 for new hybrid or electric by-law vehicles.
Council will consider Draft Budget 2024 on Wednesday, December 6.
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