News Student Bus Pass ProgramYou might have caught the news that, as part of Provincial budget cuts, the Province is eliminating funding for HRM’s student bus pass program. This will impact 36,000 junior high and high school students. For the last several years, HRM and the Province have partnered to …
Agenda, February 24 Budget:Council’s budget deliberations are nearing their conclusion. This past week we finished reviewing the last department, Fiscal Services. Fiscal Services are a sort of catch-all department for a lot of HRM’s money flows. It might sound like a remote department from day-to-day life, but there are a …
Mayor’s OfficeNew this year to budget deliberations, the Mayor’s Office presented as a stand-alone independent department. The Mayor has always been independent, just like everyone on Council. Each of us makes up our own mind on whatever issue is before us. The Office of Mayor, however, was for administrative purposes, …
Council’s budget deliberations are well underway at City Hall. February is the busiest time of the year for Councillors as budget meetings fill up several additional days each week. So far, Council has heard from the operational departments (Planning, Parks and Rec, Public Works, Transit) and as of yesterday, we …
Agenda, January 27 LakeWatchersCouncil received its first detailed report into results from the LakeWatchers program. The Program launched in 2022 and involves sampling lake water in 79 lakes across HRM twice a year. Samples are collected by consultants and community groups. With two seasons worth of data now collected, some …
Forum:On Wednesday, Council resumed budget deliberations with a look at the capital budget and I’m fairly alarmed at where Mayor Fillmore wants to take us regarding the Halifax Forum project. The Forum is a multi-use facility that includes two ice surfaces, one of which has arena seating, and community space. …
Missing Middle Housing and the Building CodeA motion of mine was back before Council around eliminating barriers to Missing Middle Housing. The situation I’m trying to change is our restrictive rules around stairways that make it hard to build small-scale multi-unit buildings, housing’s so-called Missing Middle. HRM has rezoned a …
Agenda December 9Agenda December 2 Banook PlanThe Lake Banook Coordination Plan was approved by Council this week. Banook is a special place. It’s both a prized community recreational hub, and an international sporting venue. It’s a spot that large numbers of people enjoy for walking, swimming, and paddling, and it’s …
Agenda, November 19 Budget 2026The 2026 budget process is now underway. Over the next 4-5 months, staff and Council will complete a detailed review of all of HRM’s plans for 2026. Unfortunately, this is looking like a very challenging year. This will be my 11th municipal budget and one thing …
Agenda, October 28 Museum StrategyThe Regional Museum Strategy was before Council last week. HRM has been considering two different approaches towards the museum question, (1) create a new Regional Museum that would be the central hub in HRM or (2) a decentralized approach that sees HRM enhance support to existing …
