Halifax council approves, rejects laundry list of budget extras

Halifax regional council spent hours Thursday debating a list of extra items for the 2019-20 budget.

At the end of the debate, the increase to the average tax bill had been pared down to 2.3 per cent. But Mayor Mike Savage asked finance staff to see if any money from an expected surplus could be used to bring the increase down even more.

"What would it take to get us down to 1.9 or 2.1?" asked Savage. "I'm not saying I'd vote for that, but I'm just interested in looking at that."

The request means a final vote on the budget will take place in mid-April.

When debate began, the list of added items totalled $7.1 million. Many of those items were approved, including $679,000 for ongoing reforms to the transit system.

"If you eliminated this or put it on a shelf, you might as well rip the guts out of [the] Moving Forward Together [plan]," said Coun. Lisa Blackburn.

$1.2M for Fall River fire station

Coun. Steve Streatch spoke in favour of $1.2 million for the fire department to enhance service at the Fall River station and ensure a new aerial truck has the proper number of firefighters at all times.

"I want to vote to protect all citizens in HRM, including those in my community," said Streatch.

A few items were rejected, including a new legal assistant and two more compliance officers.

A couple were approved but with reduced amounts, including more tree planting and pruning for $200,000 and a partnership with Halifax-based innovation hub Volta Labs for $125,000. The details of that partnership still need to be worked out, but Mayor Savage urged council to support the idea.

"Volta creates jobs. It's because of Volta Labs that our 25- to 29-year-olds are staying here," said Savage.

Suggestions to cover the cost of volunteer criminal-record checks and subsidies for accessible taxi trips were not included in this budget because councillors need more information before making a final decision. In the end, the list was trimmed to $5.6 million.

Grant approved for new YMCA

Regional council also approved a million-dollar grant request from the YMCA for its new Halifax facility.

Coun. Steve Adams argued against the move.

"I have a real problem with this," said Adams. "I could put a million dollars in a number of other places."

But Coun. Lorelei Nicoll pointed out the municipality will have access to the facility, including some free passes for people with low incomes. Coun. Waye Mason said the new Y will be a main recreational facility for 70,000 people on the peninsula.

The grant does not impact the tax rate because the one-time request will come from a reserve account.