Mike Maguire plans to reduce the city payroll by two per cent per year during the term and cut departmental budgets by five per cent in the first year.
The two per cent reduction would mostly come through attrition, which would avoid layoffs, said Maguire, who officially launched his mayoral campaign last night.
In management terms, a five per cent cut in program-related spending is not an unusual request, he said.
Maguire is also calling for the elimination of the bilingual status of the City of Ottawa. That would open many higher-level municipal civil service jobs to many highly qualified candidates who are instantly screened out because they don’t speak French.
Maguire adds he’s been doing some campaigning, but has intentionally kept a low profile during the summer.
