Ottawa city councillors aren't anxious to change our voting system - at least, in time for the next election in 2018.
Under a new provincial law, municipalities can change from the current first-past-the-post system, to a system of ranked ballots where voters rank candidates in order of preference.
A bylaw making such changes must be passed by next May.
In a report to the finance committee, city staff say changing to ranked ballots would increase the cost of running the next civic election by more than 50 per cent, to almost $10-million.
That doesn't include extra spending to educate the public and bring in any new technology.
Councillor David Chernushenko likes the proposed electoral system, but not at any cost.
"I'm concerned of the price tag of doing it, but also the haste," Chernushenko told the committee.
"Doing it well and thought through and well-communicated makes more sense."
Councillor Allan Hubley said we shouldn't be spending this sort of money if there's no public demand.
"I live in a ward with 50,000 people, and I haven't heard from one person that this is a big, burning issue that they want the city, or the province, to deal with," Hubley said.
City staff also say the computerized voting technology has yet to be proven with a ranked ballot system - they recommend extensive testing before proceeding.