Few things can bring a city together like a whole whack of budget cuts.

Dancers, actors, musicians and artists joined poverty and community activists for a large rally at city hall yesterday to protest a broad range of cuts, service reductions and user-fee increases proposed in order to balance the budget.

“I have never seen council chambers so full or so animated,” said Paul Durber, with People for a Better Ottawa. “However negative the cuts are, it has really energized the community and that’s very good for democracy.”

Durber said the turnout should be a wakeup call for council that residents are paying attention to what they are doing and people do not like the directions proposed in the budget.

He’s convinced that councillors are already trying to find ways to do something positive with the budget.

“It’s very heartening to see this kind of unity,” said Jenny Gullen, with People for a Better Ottawa. “People have a sense of a broader vision of the city that is not just a business decision. It includes business, but it also includes  arts and culture and adequate service for vulnerable people.”

A fine arts student at the University of Ottawa, Jessica Blackwood said the turnout shows how important arts are to the community.

“Whether you’re watching television or going out taking part in culture, it’s a huge part of our lives and we feel passionately about that,” she said.

Catharine Vandelinde  with the City for All Women Initiative suggested that a modest increase to property taxes would relieve a lot of the angst directed at councillors this week.

“People matter as much as roads and sewers, and for less than $10 per month we can keep all of our services,” she said. “That’s not a lot of money.”

Full house at Andrew Haydon Hall

• Inside city hall, it was standing room only at Andrew Haydon Hall as the first of more than 200 public delegations started addressing city councillors on the 2009 city budget yesterday. Public delegations are scheduled at least until Thursday afternoon, with most arguing against $35 million in proposed cuts, service reductions and user-fee increases required just to achieve a 4.9 per cent property-tax increase.While the majority of those in attendance were from arts groups protesting a $4.1-million cut to culture and arts funding, not all the public delegations argued against making cuts. Peter van Boeschoten, chair of the city’s seniors’ advisory committee, said of all the recommendations in the budget, a tax increase represents the biggest burden for seniors. He said user fees can be absorbed, but even a small increase in taxes means sacrifice for seniors. An increase of no greater than 4.9 per cent would be reasonable, he said.