Hey folks! Sorry we were just coming back from our #613PeoplesBudget Rally.

We are livetweeting now right now and you can watch it here:

. @cmckenney, @ShawnMenard1 and @MathieuFleury voting against the budget as a whole because they see it as a status quo budget. Thank you councilors. #ottnews

. @Eli_ElChantiry saying that there is 1/4 police officers in high schools in #Ottawa saying we should have @OttawaPolice in every high school...

Councilors make consistent references to receiving thousands of #DefundThePolice emails, thanks to @CPEP for running that campaign and showing #Ottawa City Councilors the massive opposition to the @OttawaPolice budget increase.

George Darouze, unpredictably in favour of the @OttawaPolice budget, saying he supports the efforts of @OPSChiefSloly

Now @dianedeans speaking giving a quick wrap up on the budegt, particularly, the @OttawaPolice budget saying that #DefundThePolice means for some that it means "reform"

No Councilor Deans, defund means DEFUND.

Councilor @dianedeans, chair of @OttawaPolice board says we may IN THE FUTURE decrease the Police budget but now we shouldnt....

She asks all City Councilors to support the Police budget. #ottnews

Now talking is @JimWatsonOttawa speaking down in a very rude and condescending tone to @cmckenney's motion to re-allocate the @OttawaPolice budget increase to better community supports.

. @JimWatsonOttawa asking councillors to vote against the @ShawnMenard1 smaller motion to decrease police funding (different than @cmckenney's motion)

Why is @RickChiarelli still at this council meeting. He shouldn't be there.

Voting now on the @OttawaPolice portion of the budget.

The Police budget PASSES with a 19-5 vote. Shame. We need to make sure those 19 councilors face a significant challenge to their jobs in 2022.

Despite this budget passing, what we saw this morning at our #613PeoplesBudget that there are hundreds of folks willing and ready to fight for a City where we invest more in community supports rather than policing and the @OttawaPolice.

. @opl_bpo budget passes unanimously, no conversation around it.

Now to @KeithEgli, Chair of board of @ottawahealth speaking to the Ottawa public health budget.

. @ottawahealth budget is carried unanimously.

Agricultural and Rural Affairs Budget as well as Audit Committee Budget are carried unanimously.

Now onto the budget for community and protective services (CPSC)

First on to a motion from @cmckenney, seconded by @rawlsonking to increase the budget of CPSC to $13.2 million.

Motion also asks @JimWatsonOttawa to write a letter to @fordnation for more provincial funding for public heatlh and other community supports.

Motion from @MathieuFleury, seconded by @RiverWardRiley to allocate funding to a program called "hand-in-hand" around funding for parks and rec.

. @rawlsonking speaking to why he is seconding councilor @cmckenney's motion because there are "deep pockets" of poverty in @ottawacity.

He says #Ottawa lags behind on poverty reduction in comparison to other parts of the budget. #ottbudget

. @JLeiper speaking now to the CPSC budget asking "What is affordable when it comes to a tax increase?"

He says we havent seen an analysis when we say 3% is affordable and 3.5% is not.

Calls out decades of @JimWatsonOttawa tax caps as "arbitrary"

"If we can afford a 50% tax increase for resurfacing roads, I'm sure we can afford a tax increase for our most vulnerable resident" says @JLeiper

"I do not accept that 3% is affordable and 3.1% is not" says @JLeiper. "We face such an acute crisis" we need to raise taxes to get more revenue he says.

. @Laura_Dudas has said weve had good budget consults and cannot support the @cmckenney motion because "it is unfair to bring it now"

Untrue. Budget consultations throughout #Ottawa are not and have never been accesible at least since the decade @JimWatsonOttawa has been in power

. @ShawnMenard1 says "we're using the tax argument again"

Why do these same councilors decry overspending when we are spending tens of millions on new roads, expanding the urban boundary, subsidizing developers but not when it comes to our most vulnerable residents he says.

. @ShawnMenard1 says that when we talk about these arguments like giving money to Lansdowne the tax argument is brought up but when we talk about things like housing it is never brought up.

. @RiverWardRiley says we have to realize that the budget is about "limits" there are limited resources he says.

Sure, but the #Ottawa City Council is not prioritizing those resources. #ottnews

. @RiverWardRiley, praising #Ottawa City Staff and now asking @ottawacity staff to give a self-congratulatory explanation of what they are already doing in regards to housing and other supports.

. @RiverWardRiley says how are we going to do all the things @cmckenney wants if we don't raise the tax rate?

Simple solution: Raise the tax rate...