Cumberland Ward municipal candidate Stephen Blais is prepared to back up his campaign promises with money.

Blais says if elected he will take a 10 per cent pay cut if the city fails to hold the tax rate to that of inflation, defining inflation as the consumer price index set by the Bank of Canada.

Confident there’s millions of dollars worth of savings to be found at the city, Blais continues, “I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is.”

Lowering spending, he continues, absolutely will not translate into a reduction in services for residents.

One place where savings can be found, he continues, is around the council table itself. Blais suggests the city could save $2 million per year by letting six councillors go, and that’s just direct costs. While it would be difficult to get such a motion passed, he says it’s a tough decision that needs to be made.

“The problem with this city is it fails to make the tough decisions,” he continues.

Blais adds the city shouldn’t be doing things that rightfully belong in the hands of other levels of government. He questions why the city is spending money on campaigns such as anti-smoking. While good initiatives, those are areas other levels of government should be spending, he indicates.

Property taxes should instead be used on garbage collection, snow removal, recreation and transit services.

Of course, if elected, Blais is but one vote. He says even if he votes against any motion to increase the tax rate beyond inflation and yet it passes with a majority vote, he’ll still take the pay cut. He explains he needs to take a leadership role at the council table, make compelling arguments and represent the values he has in common with others around the table. The penalty for failing to do so, he says, is the 10 per cent pay cut.

The money, he says, would be donated to charity.

This isn’t the first time Blais has made a promise regarding his pay. While running for the Ottawa Catholic School Board he said he wouldn’t accept the 150 per cent raise trustees had given themselves. When he was elected, he donated the extra money to charity.