Halifax Regional Council will soon vote on its municipal budget for the upcoming year, including what will be allocated to Halifax Regional Police—which at this rate will be $2.9 million more than originally projected for the 2022/23 fiscal year, bringing the total budget to over $90 million. The hike was recommended by the Board of […]
HRM budget
Posted inNews + Opinion
Parking overhaul pitched for downtown
[Image-1] Downtown drivers should brace for changes in how they park on city roads. The cost of an expired parking meter in HRM could double later this year—up from $25 to $50 per violation. Planning chief Bob Bjerke said during budget talks this week at City Hall that the revenue is needed to cover increasing […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Union negotiations adding “significant” budget pressure
[Image-1] The municipality will be negotiating four of its collective employment agreements during budget season, all while trying to anticipate compensation costs for the next two fiscal years. Since compensation makes up most of HRM’s expenses, that’s going to add “significant” pressure to this year’s budget according to Bedford-Wentworth councillor Tim Outhit. “Any business plan requires […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Living wage ordinance floated by Halifax council
[Image-1] The municipality maintains over 220 buildings, but HRM employees who make more than minimum wage only clean seven of them. Mark Cunningham, president of the Civic Workers Union (CUPE 108) says that’s not right. “It’s terrible work. It’s unjust that HRM as an employer would employ, even through third-party contractors, so many minimum-wage workers […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
A beacon of fiscal hope
[Image-1] “I find it interesting.” —The reason Graham Hicks (pictured above) gave for why he’s been attending council meetings for the last four decades (give or take a year). In recognition of Hicks’ efforts as a “dedicated observer,” Mike Savage presented a small plaque with Hicks’ name which will be affixed to a chair in […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Council approves budget framework
Halifax council Tuesday agreed to a “budget framework”—a set of principles meant to guide discussion through the early April debate leading to adoption of next year’s city budget—that sees no increase in the average residential tax bill. The framework lets councillors in this election year claim they are not raising taxes, but the reality is […]
Posted inArts + Music
Tunes at Noon is On
Dawn SloaneTanya Davis plays Tunes at Noon Last week I heard that Tunes at Noon – the free lunchtime summer concert series in Grand Parade — was facing extinction due to budgetary concerns. I emailed councillor Dawn Sloane to learn more and earlier this week she happily reported that council CAO Richard Butts had put up $7,000 — the amount needed to save the program — prior to the budget vote. Says Sloane: “This not only promotes our awesome local talent, but allows the students from the Centre of Arts and Technology the ability to get hands-on experience with setup
Posted inNews + Opinion
Auditor general Larry Munroe says HRM is wasting $800,000 a year
[image-1] The city is wasting $800,000 a year administering grants to community organizations, says auditor general Larry Munroe, who is so alarmed that he wants council’s audit and finance committees to “immediately” find ways to cut the waste out of the annual budget council approved just last week. The $800,000 figure is Munroe’s back-of-the-envelope calculation of what a 15 percent reduction in the city’s total grants allocation would represent. “We didn’t have any trouble at all to support a 15 percent reduction,” he says. Munroe detailed the problems in a report released last week and in an interview with The
Posted inNews + Opinion
City budget gets big real estate boost
A booming real estate market is translating into a city budget that’s an easy sell politically. In other words, more big-ticket public spending without raising taxes. City staff Tuesday put forward a proposed $758 million operating budget and $145 million capital budget, with no increases in the general tax rate but big expenditure increases for […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax Police want big budget increase
The Board of Police Commissioners is seeking an 8.25 percent increase in the budget for the Halifax Regional Police Department. If approved by city council, last year’s budget of $69,168,989 will increase by $5,705,951 to a total of $74,874,940. Additionally, the RCMP will demand a 5.5 percent increase in the amount HRM pays the force […]