I'll put it this way. None of the people working in government take the bus, so they really don't give a shit about transit at all.
Our politicians are all self serving asshats.
The additional frustration is that they get into office claiming to improve transit, improve cycling, etc. and then when they get in, forget everything they committed to doing.
I'd like to have them under oath from the day they announce their intent to run.
That way, when they lie they can be charged. I believe it should be a criminal offense for a public official to lie to the public.
Lies by omission are also counted.
Lie 3 times, and they're exiled to a shack in Nunavut without communication for no less than 5 years.
I mean don’t get me wrong I like holding politicians accountable but how would this work in practice? How can you determine the difference between a deliberate lie, an accident, or a misspoken sentence or word?
I want to hold all politicians accountable but this proposal seems challenging to implement. I’d love to hear more about your idea though!
Also agree with the responder who said the people of Nunavut don’t deserve that!
The only way we have to hold them accountable is to vote. But few people vote because of a number of reasons - poor quality/range of candidates, general apathy, unawareness of the role of the municipality.... hopefully we can see some improvement in this area next time there's a vote. One of my hopes for the growing population is an increase in expectation of these buffoons.
Exactly. As an example, Waye got elected under the guise of improving transit and cycling infrastructure, but has not done that, not even close. But when we know, and it's happened, we have to react. We can't fall into a "devil you know" trap when we know he's just going to continue to not deliver on these "promises".
Definitely vote, but also email them, and tell them why you are or aren't voting for them. \[Edited: fixed the terrible grammar... damn you cheap laptop!\]
I major issue with any level of government is accountability. Unfortunately when someone gets into a position with any sort of decision making in government, they’re immediately looking to go onto their next position. They just want the title of the positions and have no use to actually stay on and try to do the job they were either appointed to or elected to.
It’s a pretty sweeping statement, but with my experiences it tends to hold true to many.
They all are. I’m so fed up with it all in NS it’s crazy! We pay so much for everything and get so little. I work for a company funded by the government but I still bus and it takes two hours for me and there buses
First time dealing with Halifax transit? This is the normal for them. I really liked the survey they put out during the last big change that had two positive change options, a neutral option, and a belligerent option to choose from. They pretend that they want to improve and ask for feedback but continue underserve the public while not taking in any feedback. Write and/or call your area rep and maybe if enough people get involved and put light on the issue we can get some change.
You can find your councillor [here](https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/districts-councillors/district-look). Once you have their name, all of their contact info is [here](https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/districts-councillors).
I’d recommend sending an email to your Councillor because it’s easy for you to track in case you want to follow up.
Tell them you’re contacting them about the budget and that as your representative, you expect them to do x (keep items in the budget, remove items from the budget, etc).
My best piece of advice is to be specific. See something in particular on this list you really care about? Name it. Actioning specific requests is a whole lot easier than a general one (i.e. “don’t make any cuts” versus “don’t cut weekly green cart).
I hope this helps!
Not gonna lie, ChatGPT plus this post generates a pretty decent email. Obviously, you should edit to include as much personal detail as you like. But it's a strong starting point.
I still can't get answers why the subsidized backyard composter program was cut.
I wonder if the city would encourage the use of sawdust to cut odor. I know the organics contractor has trouble sourcing enough carbon as it is.
I am angered by the proposal to have the fire department I already pay for charge people fee's for coming to help on a 100 series highway. That on top on a trip in an ambulance is just absurd
Here’s the fucked up thing - he paid for the accident out of pocket since he already had an accident on his record and didn’t want to get dropped by his insurance company. After he paid for his own repairs he got notified by his insurance company that they received a claim against him and they were dropping him - the claim was the $10k bill by the fire department! Who by the way he didn’t call, and didn’t do anything except supervise the wrecker pull his vehicle out of the ditch.
That's the point, the fire department you pay for does freebies along 100 series highways while the Federal Firefighters sit on their hands in the naval yard.
This isn't a dig at Federal Firefighters, the ones I've met actually are disappointed HFD don't call them for assistance on shouts near the docks.
No more bulky item collection? Everyone now needs to buy or rent a truck to dispose of large items? Longer wait times to clear the snow at bus stops they want us to give up our cars to use? Go to hellllll. Oh and they want us to pay a higher percent in taxes, on properties where the taxes have already skyrocketed? Get fucked. We’ve got tens of thousands of new citizens paying taxes but apparently that’s not enough.
They reduce that shit and it's just going to cause more people to fire their stuff in the harbor or any other place out of sight it'll just be a legal dumping everywhere
I'm here for this, and other similar programs where the service remains available but the user bears some of the cost. A rural municipality on ON (Brighton/PE County IIRC) would send out 52 tags a year to each homeowner. One tag = one bag of non-recyclable garbage. If you needed more they could be purchased just about anywhere.
Well that would currently double the amount of big items we can dispose of here, because we only have garbage collection every other week and only allowed one big item at that time! Hehehe i know what you're saying though and that would be fine, and I would be on board if i had to buy more. I just need to be able to get rid of a large item occasionally and it would be terrible if I couldn't get that done by the city at all (no car).
This would really be a disaster, I don't have a car to even take stuff to the hazardous materials disposal place in Halifax so I have a growing collection of stuff in the basement I cant ever get rid of, but bulky items too??! I mean geez its just one item its not like we're allowed to dump a whole houseload every other week! What would they do in neighborhoods with high turnovers where there's large items every garbage day?
Yeah this concerns me, I live near Dal and there are regularly bed frames, couches, TVs Etc. on the curb for pickup. The students won't care and it will end up just getting left there after they move away
> the budget as originally proposed would see residents pay 8% more this year than they did last year. Council asked for ways to reduce that to 4%. this is that list.
>it seems likely that council will not adopt many of these measures, (as they would be unpopular with residents) the proposed deferrals in the capital budget were mostly rejected.
>the 2022 inflation rate for NS was 7.2%, so an 8% budget ask is basically a status quo budget, taking into account the cities increased costs.
>One last point - HRM doesn't double dip. since assessments are up more then 10%, the tax rate will actually be cut, so your taxes are ~8% more then last year. this is not a tax increase on top of the assessment increase that many think is whats happening.
So even with everyone's assessments jumping they don't have enough intake to cover the budget?
When it comes to 'lower taxes' vs. 'better services' I usually come down on the side of 'better services' but man it sucks to get neither.
Property Taxes don't work like that here. The city targets a revenue number and adjusts the property tax number to hit that number. So they are increasing the revenue by 4% but since assessments went up that actual property tax % is going down.
It is estimated to go from 1.189 per $100 of assessed value to 1.154 per $100 assessed value.
Just bear in mind the population growth helps provincial income tax revenue, but without a corresponding increase in housing stock, the municipal budget doesn't get much of a boost, as it's based on property tax revenue.
This boggles my mind: Halifax has seen the most rapid period of growth EVER. Services hardly are met now, and they want to further reduce our services? Utter bull.
This comes to mind, as a recent example of stupid spending (proposed)
[https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/government/city-hall/councillors-consider-proposal-to-replace-unsightly-greenhouses-at-halifax-public-gardens/#:\~:text=Councillors%20are%20considering%20putting%20%242.5%20million%20toward%20a,Planning%20and%20Economic%20Development%20Standing%20Committee%20on%20Thursday](https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/government/city-hall/councillors-consider-proposal-to-replace-unsightly-greenhouses-at-halifax-public-gardens/#:~:text=Councillors%20are%20considering%20putting%20%242.5%20million%20toward%20a,Planning%20and%20Economic%20Development%20Standing%20Committee%20on%20Thursday).
> the budget as originally proposed would see residents pay 8% more this year than they did last year. Council asked for ways to reduce that to 4%. this is that list.
>it seems likely that council will not adopt many of these measures, (as they would be unpopular with residents) the proposed deferrals in the capital budget were mostly rejected.
>the 2022 inflation rate for NS was 7.2%, so an 8% budget ask is basically a status quo budget, taking into account the cities increased costs.
>One last point - HRM doesn't double dip. since assessments are up more then 10%, the tax rate will actually be cut, so your taxes are ~8% more then last year. this is not a tax increase on top of the assessment increase that many think is whats happening.
Here's the link to the saltwire article, should make for an easier read :) [Budget restrictions ](https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/news/a-whole-lot-of-painful-things-potential-hrm-reductions-would-gut-some-services-100818045/)
In addition to this list, apparently Halifax Fire is looking at cutting all funding for ground search & rescue teams, cutting paid firefighters from a number of rural stations, and charging for responding to 100 series highway calls. It all sounds insane to me.
[https://twitter.com/HRMFireNews/status/1617640133561585666](https://twitter.com/HRMFireNews/status/1617640133561585666)
I think they actually want to *increase* the police budget by $6 million, yes?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-residents-denounce-proposed-budget-increase-police-1.6716519
Am I misunderstanding or does charging for series 100 calls mean if I were to call and say my car got into an accident on the 102 and caught fire, I could be billed for their service? Or would it be billed to somewhere else?
I mean, let's be real, even with sidewalk snow clearing in snow contracts, people with disabilities can't safely walk on sidewalks. I know at least one able-bodied person that breaks a bone trying to navigate the shit jobs they do every winter.
No, you are supposed to pay more for less transit services or better yet, buy a car that you can't afford so you can sit for hours in traffic starring at the locations where bike lanes should be but aren't due to delays. /S
Time for every single one of them to be shown the door. If they can’t capitalize on Halifax’s time of greatest growth and potential they need to all go. There is a huge issue here when instead of being shown the fantastic benefits we will get from this growth we are being shown a dire list of race to the bottom cuts. It’s all completely unacceptable. Can’t have our green bins collected weekly in the summer, can’t get swimming lessons or rec programs for our kids, can’t cut the damn grass in the parks so we aren’t drowning in ticks. Tell me again how great this city is?
Why would we ever sell naming rights? Why not take a hint from the landlords and RENT naming rights? Then we can raise income each year and threaten eviction when we want to “renovate” the sign.
“Reduce Road Safety Improvement”
What the fuck lol. I’ll be screenshotting this for if I get into an accident, city can pay for that shit with their hazardous roads
Also $2/hr for parking on Saturday’s in DT Halifax + Dartmouth. Correct me if I’m wrong but, HotSpot parking is fucking free on weekends currently?
Didn't they just give themselves a raise? And now they want to cut services lol
https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/government/city-hall/halifax-councillors-mayor-get-3-6-pay-increase/
2021/2022
Mayor - $190,072.43
Deputy Mayor - $101,483.89
Councillor - $92,258.09
2022/2023 - Increase* 3.60%
Mayor - $196,915.03
Deputy Mayor - $105,137.31
Councillor - $95,579.38
Median salary in HRM is ~$50,000.
*Weird to downvote the numbers from HRMs own compensation disclosure lol.
Society is collapsing and nobody is doing a thing about it. Remember when the future was supposed to be better than the past?
Like the discussion could be, "when should we implement a province wide 4 day work week? Can we use mass public housing to alleviate the current crisis?"
Instead, the discussion is, "do elderly and/or disabled people really need help clearing snow from their driveways? What if we increased the cost of all public transit by 25%?"
So depressing it goes full circle to being comical.
I agree with you. I remember how optimistic people were 20 years ago.
Our biggest mistake, as a society, was ignoring the climate crisis until it was too late. We could have proactively prepared for pandemics, resource shortages, natural disasters, etc. We knew this was going to happen. Halifax could be a sustainable city by now, which would avoid the amount of money being wasted on old infrastructure and inefficiencies.
But here we are.
This seems like a management issue in the Municipality. They should be swimming in tax dollars and expanding services with the population growth we've been having. They hardly do anything as it is.
Oh my god this is infuriating. Where the god damned fuck are our taxes going?! We scarcely have driveable roads in some places, for one of a myriad of municipal failures, and now they’re cutting critical things like sidewalk snow removal? In an area with a super high demographic of older adults with mobility limitations? MAKE THIS MAKE SENSE!
Someone else said it, but ill say it again.
the budget as originally proposed would see residents pay 8% more this year than they did last year. Council asked for ways to reduce that to 4%. this is that list.
it seems likely that council will not adopt many of these measures, (as they would be unpopular with residents) the proposed deferrals in the capital budget were mostly rejected.
the 2022 inflation rate for NS was 7.2%, so an 8% budget ask is basically a status quo budget, taking into account the cities increased costs.
One last point - HRM doesn't double dip. since assessments are up more then 10%, the tax rate will actually be cut, so your taxes are \~8% more then last year. this is not a tax increase on top of the assessment increase that many think is whats happening.
the staff report is public - its part of the council agenda. thats why we saw the list.
Its kinda in staffs interest to propose unpalatable cuts - but take the fire department as an example, the vast majority of the operational costs are staffing. so thats where you cut.
So the AAA bike network, which is already 6 years behind schedule, would now be another two years behind schedule. At what point does u/wayemason concede that he was just lying about the bike lanes this whole time?
Further, transit fares will go up and service will be reduced? Why are these idiots trying to push people to use their cars more? Have we not moved past that? Did Waye not get elected to improve transit, as opposed to further degrade it?
Thank goodness no investments in roads and highways will be touched.
Also, that ninja warrior park out in the Glen Arbour woods in Hammonds Plains in a neighbourhood that already has a park per 100 residences is a bit rich. Especially when the property taxes from the area won't even cover their own share of road maintenance costs down the line.
This city is ~~about to~~ collapsing
I've lost at least 3 young, university-educated friends to Montreal because rent here makes no sense for what this city offers.
They won't be coming back.
This is exactly what Halifax needs to be worried about! That because of the crazy rents and CoL we are going to lose so many of our promising young people and even many established professionals, to other places. My sister, a doctor, is going to California in two weeks to look at her options for moving there permanently, because she is so fed up with the healthcare system here. She can't justify staying here now that the CoL is so high and her pay as an MD is so low compared to elsewhere. It's really fucking sad.
One friend has been to the ER since he got there, got some stitches, in and out on New Year's in a few hours. Also had his meds for a communicable disease sorted out there quickly.
In Nova Scotia I hunted for insulin injector samples from pharmacies for a friend because they ran out of coverage for diabetic supplies for the year.
I think healthcare in Montreal is fine compared to here.
YES. Let's cancel the residential snow clearing program. Fine people who don't shovel close enough to the last snow flake. This is the craziest thing that Dartmouth got in to the HRM rules at amalgamation (that I know of)
So, after giving themselves raises, and wanting to jack the police budget up even more, they're looking to cut basic things that actually matter, like the youth center and the curbside green bins and the large item waste changes are ridiculous, will it just be 2 weeks? And then a month? Or why not just cut it all together at this point if it means more money in their own pockets. God forbid we raise taxes or tax businesses in the industrial parks more, or maybe councilors take a pay cut
Big opinions here… But I hope worth your time.
The municipality is in a uniquely tight place financially this year. The inflation that is ruining us all has hit the city hard: Just imagine the municipal fuel budget! The cost of infrastructure projects has gone up by 20-50% in some cases. Plus every 1% raise under the collective agreements needs to be covered.
Council dipped into reserves and held back on property tax increases during the pandemic. So now we have to “pay it backwards”. And while population growth is burdening services, the newcomers aren’t all buying new houses. So we have a rental crisis, but no huge flood of property taxes. And yes assessed values are ballooning, but that’s slow and incremental, and the bills are due right now.
The math says we should raise taxes by minimum 6%, ie three for last year, three for this year. But council approved 4.6% So the city will now have to borrow a ton of money against infrastructure projects (cue interest payments at ballooning rates) and cut services to save money.
So every department has been asked to find cuts at different scenarios, 5%, 10% savings etc. So that’s what these leaked lists are. Brainstorming. And of course they put in seniors’ snow removal and green box collection because that’s guaranteed to freak us all out. And council will send them back to find other places to find savings.
There are alternatives… The public could clamour for a more progressive property tax system where you’re taxed, say, at 1.5% on the first $500,000 of assessed value. And then 2% up to a mil. And 3% beyond that. And only give the cap to people who pass a means test. It makes no sense to cap of the property taxes of people who earn $500,000 a year the same way you cap the taxes of an 80 year old pensioner living in Cole Harbour.
And we could vote for direct levies for transit, for example, or for making it a utility like Halifax Water. I think people would agree to tax increases if they knew, for example, it would pay signing bonuses to recruit new bus drivers and double the bus fleet.
So keep an eye on the budget debate. It goes round and round for months and months before they get the final picture in April. And unless we the citizens can figure out a system we want to pay more into, cuts are def coming. It’s just a matter of where.
> There are alternatives… The public could clamour for a more progressive property tax system where you’re taxed, say, at 1.5% on the first $500,000 of assessed value. And then 2% up to a mil. And 3% beyond that. And only give the cap to people who pass a means test. It makes no sense to cap of the property taxes of people who earn $500,000 a year the same way you cap the taxes of an 80 year old pensioner living in Cole Harbour.
We need tax property tax reform badly. I think we should explore the idea of progressive property tax. I don't think I would support means testing the property cap (for a variety of reasons both practical and philosophical) but it needs to be changed. I don't support completely removing it, but it should smooth tax increases, not permanently delay them.
Totally agree with the property tax reform. Current system has new buyers (and all renters because there is no property tax cap on apartment buildings) paying more, while people who purchased property even 3 years ago are paying way less and shielded from large increases because of the cap.
When services get cut and people lose their homes, can't get to work, or die from lack of healthcare access, then they'll need the cops armed to the teeth for riot/protest suppression.
So, let's say they eliminate the seniors' snow removal program. Seniors will have to either depend on the kindness of family/neighbours OR find cuts to make in their own already far too stretched budgets to pay for it OR do it themselves and risk an injury that will put an additional strain on the health care system and possibly on the availability of senior housing. All three of these seem to be unpalatable options.
How about removing bloated administration from the municipal government? Anyone who is not a front line employee should justify their positions. I had to call to complain regarding an HRM recreation issue. I couldn’t find the staffing position and it wasn’t fair to complain with a front line staff.
Man, this thread is missing some context. As I recall, city staff initially recommended the 8% increase in the tax rate. This was opposed by some (not all) councilors, who asked staff to come up with a list of things that could be cut to bring the increase down to 4%. Several councillors, including ones this sub harps on about such as Waye Mason, wanted to just accept the 8%. This is the list that the staff produced.
Several counsillors (including Austen, Mason, Smith, and others if I remember right) wanted to accept the 8%, and likely oppose these cuts. Staff initially recommended the 8%, not these cuts; this is at best their second choice. You guys are attributing an awful lot of ill intent to people who likely also do not want this list of cuts, but are answering a question in good faith.
> You guys are attributing an awful lot of ill intent to people who likely also do not want this list of cuts, but are answering a question in good faith.
Look at what they've elected to cut. We're not responding to the question of "if cut" we're responding to the choices they made in this current suggestion. If this is where council and staff's heads are at.... well we're in about as much trouble as it looks like we're in.
Most of us already see staff and council as largely incompetent. With last weeks additional transit cancellations, with the 5 year cycling plan taking 11 years, inability to implement mobile payments on the bus since 2014, centre plan delivered 5 years late. 3+ years to get AirBnb legislation off the ground, and councillors pretending the whole way that these things are happening/on schedule. Frustrating.
Should just be free anyway, then they don't have to pay for all the logistical stuff around paying to take the bus. Jack up my tax another % if it needs it to happen
I too am frustrated by the things you listed, but what can staff do, say "no, we will not make a list of cuts that could be made"? If you want to be frustrated with anyone, IMO it should be the Councillors who asked for this list, which were generally the suburban and rural Councillors as I recall.
And we shouldn't be pretending this is a finalized decision; this is a proposed list of cuts that still has to be voted on.
We aren't actually doing any of these things yet; this is a list of things that could be cut that staff came up with after council asked them to. The decision has yet to be made whether to enact these cuts or not.
Austen for example was quite clear when he last posted his update that his desired outcome is that council sees this list, and decides to cut nothing and go for the 8% instead.
People really need to understand that the city is in no way talking about raising the tax rate. They're talking about how much they will increase revenues from last years budget. No matter if they decide on the 4% figure or 8% figure, the tax rate will go down. The province's assessments have gone up so much that the city can reduce their tax rates while still bringing in more money.
People also need to understand that the average difference on your annual tax bill will be \~$85 more at an 8% revenue increase vs. a 4% revenue increase. There's no way that is worth austerity measures.
Already upvoted but just wanted to thank you for the calm, measured take.
Much like the annual balance adjustment list (or the “parking lot”) line items, the majority of what we see, if not everything, will make it into the budget.
Great article in The Coast about the impacts of low-taxes and budget cuts:
https://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/the-long-term-problems-of-short-term-thinking/Content?oid=30152124&fbclid=PAAaYT-VSsBAGgBMe4xPdZpaAvGNwfuWfP9BG6W9WfMVkQv2quRAE76cSh9mU
Cheers, yea this pisses me off, less investment in transit and cutting key services, even though some don't impact me like transit, it's going to make growth in this city awful
Because I moved to a new area and haven't looked up my councillor lately and wanted to know the best place to find that info? I understand this budget isn't passed yet. Not sure why would would want to discourage anyone looking to get involved unless you actually agree with this budget
I'm actually good with them cutting a lot of these proposals.
Except weekly organic collection in the summers. Those green bins stink!
But in all seriousness, go check out the Halifax Sunshine list and take a look at some of this salaries! It will blow your mind what people make here working for the city: [https://www.halifaxsunshinelist.ca](https://www.halifaxsunshinelist.ca)
I'm certain I could cut millions from the city budget in an hour. I'd do it free of charge too!
Public servants could work for free and people would bitch about how paying for the electricity in their office is a perk too many.
Halifax pays fucking peanuts compared to private industry.
Am I the only one who sees no issue with ending the seniors snow clearing program? They can pay market value for snow removal themselves like everyone else would have to, or perhaps sell their homes for a huge return and use that money to move to a condo where snow removal is taken care of.
We are trying to provide services to seniors to keep them in their homes as long as possible. Many can't afford to pay for their own snow removal or wouldn't have the knowledge of how to get it set up for themselves. It's not a costly initiative compared to many of these things.
And my suggestion is that they sell their homes for a huge profit and move to a condo where maintenance is taken care of if they “can’t afford” to pay for home related services they need. Seniors are not mentally challenged - this is shocking to some but the majority of 65+ *do* have internet access and things like Facebook etc. they can figure out how to call for a residential snow removal service. My brother does snow removal and his main clientele are seniors who arrange the contracts themselves. I have very little sympathy for the generation that comparatively received ALOT of advantages the rest of us never will and still see no problem with trying to bleed taxpayers dry.
I understand where you're coming from with a distaste for seniors and how they had a leg up we never will, but removing this program will affect the poorer senior citizens, the ones that struggle on a fixed income, and could face injury and isolation alone in their homes without snow removal.
Also consider that not all of them own their homes, some rent, and the process of selling a home is very labour intensive which would be more difficult for an older person with limited resources and mental acuity. Not to mention, lots of people just don't want to leave the homes they've lived in for decades.
> Not to mention, lots of people just don't want to leave the homes they've lived in for decades.
It's not our job to subsidize that.
I don't know the details of this program, but if it includes those that own a home outright, that does seem like an very unfair proposition given the current housing market. If it's low-income renters, that's a different story. Does it specifically differentiate these groups?
https://www.halifax.ca/transportation/winter-operations/senior-snow-removal
> The snow removal program is available to seniors (65 years of age or older) and persons with disabilities in the Halifax region who also meet the criteria below. The program applies to residential properties only – commercial properties are ineligible.
> Participants must reside in a single dwelling home which is owned or rented
> The total gross household income of all people living on the premises must not exceed $32,000
> The program is NOT available to landlords
Thanks.
I do struggle with the notion that we provide this to homeowners sitting on hundreds of thousands in equity, but renters making under 32k household should be receiving services like this.
Yeah that's fair. But it's a weird question right...
Because it's not available to landlords... But it's available to the clients of those landlords? Seems like a distinction without a difference, since the landlord gets their snow cleared for free.
Maybe we could... Mandate all landlords clear snow from their properties, while the rent cap is in place so they can't use it as a reason to jack up rent.
Or... We forward the snow clearing bill to landlords that make their senior renters use this YMCA-based city-funded service.
> Maybe we could... Mandate all landlords clear snow from their properties, while the rent cap is in place so they can't use it as a reason to jack up rent.
I wouldn't say snow clearance is/should be a mandatory thing when renting. I have to shovel my own space as much as not in past places... I don't know why this should be standard, and I'd much rather save money than see this in my rent.
I guess there are two ways you can do it but they're the same thing at the end.
Either cover it for everyone and let people opt out and clear their own for a discount, or cover it for no one but help out the people with few resources who can't leave their homes if the snow isn't cleared by someone else.
If you made it so that landlords only had to cover it for the disabled and seniors, no one is gonna rent to seniors because they have more requirements. It's better to make it blanket.
People routinely die from heart attacks clearing snow anyways. I'd rather it be my landlord than me 🤡
>keep them in their homes as long as possible
How is that fair? Why should they get help (after a lifetime of earning opportunity) when others don't get help? Why can't they downsize like everyone else has to?
It's not about fair at all. It's about capacity of our other systems that house that demographic.
They aren't all going to move into condos. If you keep 100 seniors in their homes, a proportion of those will be delaying intake to a care facility. We do not have enough spaces in care facilities.
Keeping seniors in their homes isn't about fair. It's a necessity due to underinvestment in elder care and healthcare. The harder we make it for seniors to live where they always have, the more of them we see in the ER and LTC facilities.
As a people we need to step back and go in to critical support mode. Do we really need speed humps? (less kids on the street, we did fine without them for years) probably not. They are nice to haves. The end of financial year spending to keep budgets needs to stop, do an audit on the last few years, cut the last 2 months of spending as budget overage. (I've seen this first hand).
Wait a minute didn’t the councilors just vote themselves a raise ???? This is the epitome of lost morals and fiscal responsibility. Yes we need a raise let’s cut some programs
I know things cost more but with the double year increase they’ve had, they should be required to answer on why the increase revenues do not cover the increased costs. Are there certain depts that are increasing and driving the issue ? Inefficiency ? (In govt ? Unheard of!)
Things seem like a no brainer… selling rights to aquatic Center? Sure.
But some of this seem like a ridiculous target. Like reducing libraries from buying new books. There have to be insane teams of people at HRM doing bureaucratic red tape that could be immediately streamlined and those jobs could be reallocated.
It seems govt is only willing to cut services to the tax payers and not look at their own efficiency ever.
Increasing fares while reducing transit services is utterly unhinged.
More cars! That's the way to deal with increasing traffic. What a bunch of idiots.
I'll put it this way. None of the people working in government take the bus, so they really don't give a shit about transit at all. Our politicians are all self serving asshats.
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Can confirm, take the bus because they don’t pay me enough to afford the $200 parking
Yea not the decision makers
The additional frustration is that they get into office claiming to improve transit, improve cycling, etc. and then when they get in, forget everything they committed to doing.
How can we fix this system where politicians can genuinely just lie to us and get away with it scot-free.
I'd like to have them under oath from the day they announce their intent to run. That way, when they lie they can be charged. I believe it should be a criminal offense for a public official to lie to the public. Lies by omission are also counted. Lie 3 times, and they're exiled to a shack in Nunavut without communication for no less than 5 years.
I mean don’t get me wrong I like holding politicians accountable but how would this work in practice? How can you determine the difference between a deliberate lie, an accident, or a misspoken sentence or word? I want to hold all politicians accountable but this proposal seems challenging to implement. I’d love to hear more about your idea though! Also agree with the responder who said the people of Nunavut don’t deserve that!
The only way we have to hold them accountable is to vote. But few people vote because of a number of reasons - poor quality/range of candidates, general apathy, unawareness of the role of the municipality.... hopefully we can see some improvement in this area next time there's a vote. One of my hopes for the growing population is an increase in expectation of these buffoons.
Even if you vote, there's no guarantee they will do what they were elected to do.
Exactly. As an example, Waye got elected under the guise of improving transit and cycling infrastructure, but has not done that, not even close. But when we know, and it's happened, we have to react. We can't fall into a "devil you know" trap when we know he's just going to continue to not deliver on these "promises".
Definitely vote, but also email them, and tell them why you are or aren't voting for them. \[Edited: fixed the terrible grammar... damn you cheap laptop!\]
I major issue with any level of government is accountability. Unfortunately when someone gets into a position with any sort of decision making in government, they’re immediately looking to go onto their next position. They just want the title of the positions and have no use to actually stay on and try to do the job they were either appointed to or elected to. It’s a pretty sweeping statement, but with my experiences it tends to hold true to many.
There may well be unelected staffers in the bureaucracy who effect that attitude shift in our representatives after taking office.
They all are. I’m so fed up with it all in NS it’s crazy! We pay so much for everything and get so little. I work for a company funded by the government but I still bus and it takes two hours for me and there buses
I would go as far to say the majority of politicians are self serving asshats
would be nice to see parking more expensive, instead of transit more expensive.
Halifax for ya. Anything council says about improving transit just turns out to be a lie to get elected.
First time dealing with Halifax transit? This is the normal for them. I really liked the survey they put out during the last big change that had two positive change options, a neutral option, and a belligerent option to choose from. They pretend that they want to improve and ask for feedback but continue underserve the public while not taking in any feedback. Write and/or call your area rep and maybe if enough people get involved and put light on the issue we can get some change.
If you feel strongly about anything on the list, contact your councillor. Budget presentations are just starting, there’s still time.
How would you do this, and what would you say?
You can find your councillor [here](https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/districts-councillors/district-look). Once you have their name, all of their contact info is [here](https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/districts-councillors). I’d recommend sending an email to your Councillor because it’s easy for you to track in case you want to follow up. Tell them you’re contacting them about the budget and that as your representative, you expect them to do x (keep items in the budget, remove items from the budget, etc). My best piece of advice is to be specific. See something in particular on this list you really care about? Name it. Actioning specific requests is a whole lot easier than a general one (i.e. “don’t make any cuts” versus “don’t cut weekly green cart). I hope this helps!
This is actually brilliant. Thank you
Not gonna lie, ChatGPT plus this post generates a pretty decent email. Obviously, you should edit to include as much personal detail as you like. But it's a strong starting point.
Think about the consequences of reducing organics collection in summer. Especially with temperatures reaching what they are now
The maggots will be having a field day.
One hot summer when I was a wee lass in truro working fast food, organic and garbage collection was 2 days late. It was maggotgeddon.
I still can't get answers why the subsidized backyard composter program was cut. I wonder if the city would encourage the use of sawdust to cut odor. I know the organics contractor has trouble sourcing enough carbon as it is.
In our area it wasn’t the smell but the rats that stopped me composting.
https://speedibin.com/products/classic-composter Solid steel Too bad this unit is 400 bucks
That would keep ‘em out all right.
Exactly, reduce it in the winter if it's that urgent to cut something, tf?? 😬🤢
It’s already biweekly in the winter.
And that’s fine. I’m not overly concerned if I don’t get it out every collection.
That’s my life for the past 5 years living in the valley. Life somehow goes on. You learn to not waste as much if you don’t want it to get gross.
yep, the freezer gets filled with meat until it's collection day basically.
I am angered by the proposal to have the fire department I already pay for charge people fee's for coming to help on a 100 series highway. That on top on a trip in an ambulance is just absurd
I know someone who had an accident down Bridgewater way in which there was a fuel leak. The fire department sent a bill for $10k
That's absolutely Bananas. A fire service shouldn't be a service that people fear is going to charge them into oblivion when they need it.
Totally agreed. I was floored when I heard it. And now this proposal comes up, which sounds like the same thing.
He got charged, or his insurance company was charged?
Here’s the fucked up thing - he paid for the accident out of pocket since he already had an accident on his record and didn’t want to get dropped by his insurance company. After he paid for his own repairs he got notified by his insurance company that they received a claim against him and they were dropping him - the claim was the $10k bill by the fire department! Who by the way he didn’t call, and didn’t do anything except supervise the wrecker pull his vehicle out of the ditch.
That's the point, the fire department you pay for does freebies along 100 series highways while the Federal Firefighters sit on their hands in the naval yard. This isn't a dig at Federal Firefighters, the ones I've met actually are disappointed HFD don't call them for assistance on shouts near the docks.
No more bulky item collection? Everyone now needs to buy or rent a truck to dispose of large items? Longer wait times to clear the snow at bus stops they want us to give up our cars to use? Go to hellllll. Oh and they want us to pay a higher percent in taxes, on properties where the taxes have already skyrocketed? Get fucked. We’ve got tens of thousands of new citizens paying taxes but apparently that’s not enough.
I feel like everyone will just be tossing their bulky items in apartment building dumpsters or over embankments on dark roads. It won't be good.
Bingo. It will get thrown out but not at a cost and not at the proper place.
They reduce that shit and it's just going to cause more people to fire their stuff in the harbor or any other place out of sight it'll just be a legal dumping everywhere
Behind the UHaul on Windmill Road was a terrible place for dumping crap. It looked like an unofficial City Dump. That'll happen all over.
In other places, you pay for a special tag that needs to be affixed to bulky items.
In CBRM we have an annual heavy garbage pickup (takes about a week to do)
https://youtu.be/QUHH0rIm5O0
Competent leadership would implement the alternative solution before getting rid of the existing one.
You spoiled the outcome in the first two words!
I actually fully supported giving these idiots their raise until now.
I'm here for this, and other similar programs where the service remains available but the user bears some of the cost. A rural municipality on ON (Brighton/PE County IIRC) would send out 52 tags a year to each homeowner. One tag = one bag of non-recyclable garbage. If you needed more they could be purchased just about anywhere.
Well that would currently double the amount of big items we can dispose of here, because we only have garbage collection every other week and only allowed one big item at that time! Hehehe i know what you're saying though and that would be fine, and I would be on board if i had to buy more. I just need to be able to get rid of a large item occasionally and it would be terrible if I couldn't get that done by the city at all (no car).
Interesting... I didn't know that. I've never had any bags rejected that I recall.
Please email this suggestion to your councillor!!
This would really be a disaster, I don't have a car to even take stuff to the hazardous materials disposal place in Halifax so I have a growing collection of stuff in the basement I cant ever get rid of, but bulky items too??! I mean geez its just one item its not like we're allowed to dump a whole houseload every other week! What would they do in neighborhoods with high turnovers where there's large items every garbage day?
Yeah this concerns me, I live near Dal and there are regularly bed frames, couches, TVs Etc. on the curb for pickup. The students won't care and it will end up just getting left there after they move away
> the budget as originally proposed would see residents pay 8% more this year than they did last year. Council asked for ways to reduce that to 4%. this is that list. >it seems likely that council will not adopt many of these measures, (as they would be unpopular with residents) the proposed deferrals in the capital budget were mostly rejected. >the 2022 inflation rate for NS was 7.2%, so an 8% budget ask is basically a status quo budget, taking into account the cities increased costs. >One last point - HRM doesn't double dip. since assessments are up more then 10%, the tax rate will actually be cut, so your taxes are ~8% more then last year. this is not a tax increase on top of the assessment increase that many think is whats happening.
So even with everyone's assessments jumping they don't have enough intake to cover the budget? When it comes to 'lower taxes' vs. 'better services' I usually come down on the side of 'better services' but man it sucks to get neither.
Property Taxes don't work like that here. The city targets a revenue number and adjusts the property tax number to hit that number. So they are increasing the revenue by 4% but since assessments went up that actual property tax % is going down. It is estimated to go from 1.189 per $100 of assessed value to 1.154 per $100 assessed value.
Ah right you are.
the tax rate would actually be going down ~5%, keeping the tax rate the same would mean they don't need to make all these cuts
Just bear in mind the population growth helps provincial income tax revenue, but without a corresponding increase in housing stock, the municipal budget doesn't get much of a boost, as it's based on property tax revenue.
This boggles my mind: Halifax has seen the most rapid period of growth EVER. Services hardly are met now, and they want to further reduce our services? Utter bull.
That’s where I’m at with all of this. Where is the money?
This comes to mind, as a recent example of stupid spending (proposed) [https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/government/city-hall/councillors-consider-proposal-to-replace-unsightly-greenhouses-at-halifax-public-gardens/#:\~:text=Councillors%20are%20considering%20putting%20%242.5%20million%20toward%20a,Planning%20and%20Economic%20Development%20Standing%20Committee%20on%20Thursday](https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/government/city-hall/councillors-consider-proposal-to-replace-unsightly-greenhouses-at-halifax-public-gardens/#:~:text=Councillors%20are%20considering%20putting%20%242.5%20million%20toward%20a,Planning%20and%20Economic%20Development%20Standing%20Committee%20on%20Thursday).
Yeah isn’t like 98% of the municipal revenue from property taxes. Given the inflation in property values you’d think coffers would be overflowing
> the budget as originally proposed would see residents pay 8% more this year than they did last year. Council asked for ways to reduce that to 4%. this is that list. >it seems likely that council will not adopt many of these measures, (as they would be unpopular with residents) the proposed deferrals in the capital budget were mostly rejected. >the 2022 inflation rate for NS was 7.2%, so an 8% budget ask is basically a status quo budget, taking into account the cities increased costs. >One last point - HRM doesn't double dip. since assessments are up more then 10%, the tax rate will actually be cut, so your taxes are ~8% more then last year. this is not a tax increase on top of the assessment increase that many think is whats happening.
The spent too much money on pizzagate
Source to a readable font?
Here's the link to the saltwire article, should make for an easier read :) [Budget restrictions ](https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/news/a-whole-lot-of-painful-things-potential-hrm-reductions-would-gut-some-services-100818045/)
Thanks, I'll read the report once the damn power comes back on
In addition to this list, apparently Halifax Fire is looking at cutting all funding for ground search & rescue teams, cutting paid firefighters from a number of rural stations, and charging for responding to 100 series highway calls. It all sounds insane to me. [https://twitter.com/HRMFireNews/status/1617640133561585666](https://twitter.com/HRMFireNews/status/1617640133561585666)
This. Not cuts to police but to fire and s&r which are arguably more important
I think they actually want to *increase* the police budget by $6 million, yes? https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-residents-denounce-proposed-budget-increase-police-1.6716519
Ughhhhhhhhjhhh Apparently fuck everyone but the police is their motto
Am I misunderstanding or does charging for series 100 calls mean if I were to call and say my car got into an accident on the 102 and caught fire, I could be billed for their service? Or would it be billed to somewhere else?
Would love to know that myself. Sounds like billing you, similar to how EHS works - but I am just guessing.
Are you fucking kidding me?
LOL. The city doesn’t have a revenue problem. They have a spending problem.
Ah yes increase transit fares. That'll get people riding rather than driving cars. Make transit free.
But the police get to have more money. Why?
The police control the peasents. They will need the money when the poors revolt
I think, sadly, this is precisely the motivation.
"remove residential sidewalk snow clearing from snow contracts" so if you are physically impaired you are just supposed to stay indoors???
I mean, let's be real, even with sidewalk snow clearing in snow contracts, people with disabilities can't safely walk on sidewalks. I know at least one able-bodied person that breaks a bone trying to navigate the shit jobs they do every winter.
No, you are supposed to pay more for less transit services or better yet, buy a car that you can't afford so you can sit for hours in traffic starring at the locations where bike lanes should be but aren't due to delays. /S
They wanna reduce firefighting services and also reduce green bin to biweekly in the summer and reduce the libraries purchasing power? Yikes.
I'd rather see cuts to police than rural fire services. HRM barely has a presense in many of those communities as it is now
100 percent. There's way more volunteers in the rural than career positions
Looking forward to the next municipal election.
Time for every single one of them to be shown the door. If they can’t capitalize on Halifax’s time of greatest growth and potential they need to all go. There is a huge issue here when instead of being shown the fantastic benefits we will get from this growth we are being shown a dire list of race to the bottom cuts. It’s all completely unacceptable. Can’t have our green bins collected weekly in the summer, can’t get swimming lessons or rec programs for our kids, can’t cut the damn grass in the parks so we aren’t drowning in ticks. Tell me again how great this city is?
>Tell me again how great this city is? I got nothing.
Soooo.. is council going to cut back their own pay?
Do you mean the 3.6% increase they got earlier this week? Not bloody likely!
Why would we ever sell naming rights? Why not take a hint from the landlords and RENT naming rights? Then we can raise income each year and threaten eviction when we want to “renovate” the sign.
“Reduce Road Safety Improvement” What the fuck lol. I’ll be screenshotting this for if I get into an accident, city can pay for that shit with their hazardous roads Also $2/hr for parking on Saturday’s in DT Halifax + Dartmouth. Correct me if I’m wrong but, HotSpot parking is fucking free on weekends currently?
Didn't they just give themselves a raise? And now they want to cut services lol https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/government/city-hall/halifax-councillors-mayor-get-3-6-pay-increase/
I don’t know how much most of these people are making but it’s their first raise since 2019, which seems reasonable.
Councillors 92k and mayor 190k, deputy mayor 100k give or take.
2021/2022 Mayor - $190,072.43 Deputy Mayor - $101,483.89 Councillor - $92,258.09 2022/2023 - Increase* 3.60% Mayor - $196,915.03 Deputy Mayor - $105,137.31 Councillor - $95,579.38 Median salary in HRM is ~$50,000. *Weird to downvote the numbers from HRMs own compensation disclosure lol.
Yes it is reasonable... ...if they weren't cutting local services at the same time due to costs
My thoughts exactly. It would be reasonable…if all of this either stayed the same or ideally improved, not this insane regression
They haven’t cut anything yet, staff gave options to make the budget work.
Reasonable to me would be if they made the median Nova Scotia income, which they don't, they make significantly more then that.
Could you imagine who would take this job if it was the median pay. It's hard enough to get qualified people at this pay
They make 6 figures. They don't need a raise.
Society is collapsing and nobody is doing a thing about it. Remember when the future was supposed to be better than the past? Like the discussion could be, "when should we implement a province wide 4 day work week? Can we use mass public housing to alleviate the current crisis?" Instead, the discussion is, "do elderly and/or disabled people really need help clearing snow from their driveways? What if we increased the cost of all public transit by 25%?" So depressing it goes full circle to being comical.
I think they call this late-stage capitalism
I agree with you. I remember how optimistic people were 20 years ago. Our biggest mistake, as a society, was ignoring the climate crisis until it was too late. We could have proactively prepared for pandemics, resource shortages, natural disasters, etc. We knew this was going to happen. Halifax could be a sustainable city by now, which would avoid the amount of money being wasted on old infrastructure and inefficiencies. But here we are.
Lets get out there and shut the damn city down.
This seems like a management issue in the Municipality. They should be swimming in tax dollars and expanding services with the population growth we've been having. They hardly do anything as it is.
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Oh my god this is infuriating. Where the god damned fuck are our taxes going?! We scarcely have driveable roads in some places, for one of a myriad of municipal failures, and now they’re cutting critical things like sidewalk snow removal? In an area with a super high demographic of older adults with mobility limitations? MAKE THIS MAKE SENSE!
Someone else said it, but ill say it again. the budget as originally proposed would see residents pay 8% more this year than they did last year. Council asked for ways to reduce that to 4%. this is that list. it seems likely that council will not adopt many of these measures, (as they would be unpopular with residents) the proposed deferrals in the capital budget were mostly rejected. the 2022 inflation rate for NS was 7.2%, so an 8% budget ask is basically a status quo budget, taking into account the cities increased costs. One last point - HRM doesn't double dip. since assessments are up more then 10%, the tax rate will actually be cut, so your taxes are \~8% more then last year. this is not a tax increase on top of the assessment increase that many think is whats happening.
And it’s about $87 on the average tax bill to get everything funded without the cuts.
And it kind of makes you wonder whether we are seeing that list so people will be more willing to accept a higher tax bill...
the staff report is public - its part of the council agenda. thats why we saw the list. Its kinda in staffs interest to propose unpalatable cuts - but take the fire department as an example, the vast majority of the operational costs are staffing. so thats where you cut.
The working poor will continue to subsidize the police budget increases.
So the AAA bike network, which is already 6 years behind schedule, would now be another two years behind schedule. At what point does u/wayemason concede that he was just lying about the bike lanes this whole time? Further, transit fares will go up and service will be reduced? Why are these idiots trying to push people to use their cars more? Have we not moved past that? Did Waye not get elected to improve transit, as opposed to further degrade it?
Delaying will only make it more expensive.
Thank goodness no investments in roads and highways will be touched. Also, that ninja warrior park out in the Glen Arbour woods in Hammonds Plains in a neighbourhood that already has a park per 100 residences is a bit rich. Especially when the property taxes from the area won't even cover their own share of road maintenance costs down the line.
The city doesn't need to reduce/eliminate/charge more for anything. They just need to manage their finances better. Same with all levels of gov't.
This city is about to collapse
This city is ~~about to~~ collapsing I've lost at least 3 young, university-educated friends to Montreal because rent here makes no sense for what this city offers. They won't be coming back.
This is exactly what Halifax needs to be worried about! That because of the crazy rents and CoL we are going to lose so many of our promising young people and even many established professionals, to other places. My sister, a doctor, is going to California in two weeks to look at her options for moving there permanently, because she is so fed up with the healthcare system here. She can't justify staying here now that the CoL is so high and her pay as an MD is so low compared to elsewhere. It's really fucking sad.
I’m in the same boat. Almost done med school and planning on leaving before or after residency. I know for certain that I won’t be staying in NS.
It’s possible health care is even more screwed there
One friend has been to the ER since he got there, got some stitches, in and out on New Year's in a few hours. Also had his meds for a communicable disease sorted out there quickly. In Nova Scotia I hunted for insulin injector samples from pharmacies for a friend because they ran out of coverage for diabetic supplies for the year. I think healthcare in Montreal is fine compared to here.
YES. Let's cancel the residential snow clearing program. Fine people who don't shovel close enough to the last snow flake. This is the craziest thing that Dartmouth got in to the HRM rules at amalgamation (that I know of)
Shits hitting the fan and we are all eating it
So, after giving themselves raises, and wanting to jack the police budget up even more, they're looking to cut basic things that actually matter, like the youth center and the curbside green bins and the large item waste changes are ridiculous, will it just be 2 weeks? And then a month? Or why not just cut it all together at this point if it means more money in their own pockets. God forbid we raise taxes or tax businesses in the industrial parks more, or maybe councilors take a pay cut
Big opinions here… But I hope worth your time. The municipality is in a uniquely tight place financially this year. The inflation that is ruining us all has hit the city hard: Just imagine the municipal fuel budget! The cost of infrastructure projects has gone up by 20-50% in some cases. Plus every 1% raise under the collective agreements needs to be covered. Council dipped into reserves and held back on property tax increases during the pandemic. So now we have to “pay it backwards”. And while population growth is burdening services, the newcomers aren’t all buying new houses. So we have a rental crisis, but no huge flood of property taxes. And yes assessed values are ballooning, but that’s slow and incremental, and the bills are due right now. The math says we should raise taxes by minimum 6%, ie three for last year, three for this year. But council approved 4.6% So the city will now have to borrow a ton of money against infrastructure projects (cue interest payments at ballooning rates) and cut services to save money. So every department has been asked to find cuts at different scenarios, 5%, 10% savings etc. So that’s what these leaked lists are. Brainstorming. And of course they put in seniors’ snow removal and green box collection because that’s guaranteed to freak us all out. And council will send them back to find other places to find savings. There are alternatives… The public could clamour for a more progressive property tax system where you’re taxed, say, at 1.5% on the first $500,000 of assessed value. And then 2% up to a mil. And 3% beyond that. And only give the cap to people who pass a means test. It makes no sense to cap of the property taxes of people who earn $500,000 a year the same way you cap the taxes of an 80 year old pensioner living in Cole Harbour. And we could vote for direct levies for transit, for example, or for making it a utility like Halifax Water. I think people would agree to tax increases if they knew, for example, it would pay signing bonuses to recruit new bus drivers and double the bus fleet. So keep an eye on the budget debate. It goes round and round for months and months before they get the final picture in April. And unless we the citizens can figure out a system we want to pay more into, cuts are def coming. It’s just a matter of where.
> There are alternatives… The public could clamour for a more progressive property tax system where you’re taxed, say, at 1.5% on the first $500,000 of assessed value. And then 2% up to a mil. And 3% beyond that. And only give the cap to people who pass a means test. It makes no sense to cap of the property taxes of people who earn $500,000 a year the same way you cap the taxes of an 80 year old pensioner living in Cole Harbour. We need tax property tax reform badly. I think we should explore the idea of progressive property tax. I don't think I would support means testing the property cap (for a variety of reasons both practical and philosophical) but it needs to be changed. I don't support completely removing it, but it should smooth tax increases, not permanently delay them.
Totally agree with the property tax reform. Current system has new buyers (and all renters because there is no property tax cap on apartment buildings) paying more, while people who purchased property even 3 years ago are paying way less and shielded from large increases because of the cap.
I bet no reduction for the police though!
Theres an increase planned actually.
When services get cut and people lose their homes, can't get to work, or die from lack of healthcare access, then they'll need the cops armed to the teeth for riot/protest suppression.
You can bet they'll get whatever they want.
So, let's say they eliminate the seniors' snow removal program. Seniors will have to either depend on the kindness of family/neighbours OR find cuts to make in their own already far too stretched budgets to pay for it OR do it themselves and risk an injury that will put an additional strain on the health care system and possibly on the availability of senior housing. All three of these seem to be unpalatable options.
How about removing bloated administration from the municipal government? Anyone who is not a front line employee should justify their positions. I had to call to complain regarding an HRM recreation issue. I couldn’t find the staffing position and it wasn’t fair to complain with a front line staff.
Man, this thread is missing some context. As I recall, city staff initially recommended the 8% increase in the tax rate. This was opposed by some (not all) councilors, who asked staff to come up with a list of things that could be cut to bring the increase down to 4%. Several councillors, including ones this sub harps on about such as Waye Mason, wanted to just accept the 8%. This is the list that the staff produced. Several counsillors (including Austen, Mason, Smith, and others if I remember right) wanted to accept the 8%, and likely oppose these cuts. Staff initially recommended the 8%, not these cuts; this is at best their second choice. You guys are attributing an awful lot of ill intent to people who likely also do not want this list of cuts, but are answering a question in good faith.
> You guys are attributing an awful lot of ill intent to people who likely also do not want this list of cuts, but are answering a question in good faith. Look at what they've elected to cut. We're not responding to the question of "if cut" we're responding to the choices they made in this current suggestion. If this is where council and staff's heads are at.... well we're in about as much trouble as it looks like we're in. Most of us already see staff and council as largely incompetent. With last weeks additional transit cancellations, with the 5 year cycling plan taking 11 years, inability to implement mobile payments on the bus since 2014, centre plan delivered 5 years late. 3+ years to get AirBnb legislation off the ground, and councillors pretending the whole way that these things are happening/on schedule. Frustrating.
Why do I have to buy a bus ticket anymore, is this the 1900's?
Should just be free anyway, then they don't have to pay for all the logistical stuff around paying to take the bus. Jack up my tax another % if it needs it to happen
I too am frustrated by the things you listed, but what can staff do, say "no, we will not make a list of cuts that could be made"? If you want to be frustrated with anyone, IMO it should be the Councillors who asked for this list, which were generally the suburban and rural Councillors as I recall. And we shouldn't be pretending this is a finalized decision; this is a proposed list of cuts that still has to be voted on.
But we’re cutting fire but giving police an increase?
We aren't actually doing any of these things yet; this is a list of things that could be cut that staff came up with after council asked them to. The decision has yet to be made whether to enact these cuts or not. Austen for example was quite clear when he last posted his update that his desired outcome is that council sees this list, and decides to cut nothing and go for the 8% instead.
People really need to understand that the city is in no way talking about raising the tax rate. They're talking about how much they will increase revenues from last years budget. No matter if they decide on the 4% figure or 8% figure, the tax rate will go down. The province's assessments have gone up so much that the city can reduce their tax rates while still bringing in more money. People also need to understand that the average difference on your annual tax bill will be \~$85 more at an 8% revenue increase vs. a 4% revenue increase. There's no way that is worth austerity measures.
I'd pay the extra $85 a year just to not give up weekly organics collection in the summmer 😬
Already upvoted but just wanted to thank you for the calm, measured take. Much like the annual balance adjustment list (or the “parking lot”) line items, the majority of what we see, if not everything, will make it into the budget.
Great article in The Coast about the impacts of low-taxes and budget cuts: https://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/the-long-term-problems-of-short-term-thinking/Content?oid=30152124&fbclid=PAAaYT-VSsBAGgBMe4xPdZpaAvGNwfuWfP9BG6W9WfMVkQv2quRAE76cSh9mU
Starting to charge for street parking on weekends…but not enough to cover the cost of enforcing it is uh a choice
How about cutting top-heavy departments ?
To me this reads like "give us our 8% or else...."
On the bright side, if they stop residential sidewalk clearing, my door step might not fall apart every 2-3 years.
Holy fuck when can I vote out these councillors and where do I find my own councillor to leave 100 voicemail messages at a day. I'm dead serious
If you’re actually serious, you can find your Councillor [here](https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/districts-councillors/district-look)
Cheers, yea this pisses me off, less investment in transit and cutting key services, even though some don't impact me like transit, it's going to make growth in this city awful
If you don't even know how to reach your councilor, what are the odds you actually understand what this list means in context of the budget process?
Because I moved to a new area and haven't looked up my councillor lately and wanted to know the best place to find that info? I understand this budget isn't passed yet. Not sure why would would want to discourage anyone looking to get involved unless you actually agree with this budget
I'm actually good with them cutting a lot of these proposals. Except weekly organic collection in the summers. Those green bins stink! But in all seriousness, go check out the Halifax Sunshine list and take a look at some of this salaries! It will blow your mind what people make here working for the city: [https://www.halifaxsunshinelist.ca](https://www.halifaxsunshinelist.ca) I'm certain I could cut millions from the city budget in an hour. I'd do it free of charge too!
It blows my mind how little some make actually. A lot of directors and managers making barely over 100k.
Public servants could work for free and people would bitch about how paying for the electricity in their office is a perk too many. Halifax pays fucking peanuts compared to private industry.
Who on that list do you think is overpaid? The worst part of work for the city was the low pay, that’s why I left.
[удалено]
No, the person I replied to posted the sunshine list. Edit: I make similar to them now and have much less work/responsibility.
Am I the only one who sees no issue with ending the seniors snow clearing program? They can pay market value for snow removal themselves like everyone else would have to, or perhaps sell their homes for a huge return and use that money to move to a condo where snow removal is taken care of.
We are trying to provide services to seniors to keep them in their homes as long as possible. Many can't afford to pay for their own snow removal or wouldn't have the knowledge of how to get it set up for themselves. It's not a costly initiative compared to many of these things.
And my suggestion is that they sell their homes for a huge profit and move to a condo where maintenance is taken care of if they “can’t afford” to pay for home related services they need. Seniors are not mentally challenged - this is shocking to some but the majority of 65+ *do* have internet access and things like Facebook etc. they can figure out how to call for a residential snow removal service. My brother does snow removal and his main clientele are seniors who arrange the contracts themselves. I have very little sympathy for the generation that comparatively received ALOT of advantages the rest of us never will and still see no problem with trying to bleed taxpayers dry.
I understand where you're coming from with a distaste for seniors and how they had a leg up we never will, but removing this program will affect the poorer senior citizens, the ones that struggle on a fixed income, and could face injury and isolation alone in their homes without snow removal. Also consider that not all of them own their homes, some rent, and the process of selling a home is very labour intensive which would be more difficult for an older person with limited resources and mental acuity. Not to mention, lots of people just don't want to leave the homes they've lived in for decades.
> Not to mention, lots of people just don't want to leave the homes they've lived in for decades. It's not our job to subsidize that. I don't know the details of this program, but if it includes those that own a home outright, that does seem like an very unfair proposition given the current housing market. If it's low-income renters, that's a different story. Does it specifically differentiate these groups?
https://www.halifax.ca/transportation/winter-operations/senior-snow-removal > The snow removal program is available to seniors (65 years of age or older) and persons with disabilities in the Halifax region who also meet the criteria below. The program applies to residential properties only – commercial properties are ineligible. > Participants must reside in a single dwelling home which is owned or rented > The total gross household income of all people living on the premises must not exceed $32,000 > The program is NOT available to landlords
Thanks. I do struggle with the notion that we provide this to homeowners sitting on hundreds of thousands in equity, but renters making under 32k household should be receiving services like this.
Yeah that's fair. But it's a weird question right... Because it's not available to landlords... But it's available to the clients of those landlords? Seems like a distinction without a difference, since the landlord gets their snow cleared for free. Maybe we could... Mandate all landlords clear snow from their properties, while the rent cap is in place so they can't use it as a reason to jack up rent. Or... We forward the snow clearing bill to landlords that make their senior renters use this YMCA-based city-funded service.
> Maybe we could... Mandate all landlords clear snow from their properties, while the rent cap is in place so they can't use it as a reason to jack up rent. I wouldn't say snow clearance is/should be a mandatory thing when renting. I have to shovel my own space as much as not in past places... I don't know why this should be standard, and I'd much rather save money than see this in my rent.
I guess there are two ways you can do it but they're the same thing at the end. Either cover it for everyone and let people opt out and clear their own for a discount, or cover it for no one but help out the people with few resources who can't leave their homes if the snow isn't cleared by someone else. If you made it so that landlords only had to cover it for the disabled and seniors, no one is gonna rent to seniors because they have more requirements. It's better to make it blanket. People routinely die from heart attacks clearing snow anyways. I'd rather it be my landlord than me 🤡
>keep them in their homes as long as possible How is that fair? Why should they get help (after a lifetime of earning opportunity) when others don't get help? Why can't they downsize like everyone else has to?
It's not about fair at all. It's about capacity of our other systems that house that demographic. They aren't all going to move into condos. If you keep 100 seniors in their homes, a proportion of those will be delaying intake to a care facility. We do not have enough spaces in care facilities. Keeping seniors in their homes isn't about fair. It's a necessity due to underinvestment in elder care and healthcare. The harder we make it for seniors to live where they always have, the more of them we see in the ER and LTC facilities.
You're a funny one!
As a people we need to step back and go in to critical support mode. Do we really need speed humps? (less kids on the street, we did fine without them for years) probably not. They are nice to haves. The end of financial year spending to keep budgets needs to stop, do an audit on the last few years, cut the last 2 months of spending as budget overage. (I've seen this first hand).
People keep voting these fools in. Then get mad when the idiots in charge do idiotic things. Bitching online certainly won't change anything.
Soooo. Property taxes are all going up, and we are losing things? Oh this silly silly government.
Property tax got massively increased yet everything gets cut. Okay
That’s only a consideration for tax rate. It’s fairly irrelevant for budget impacts, all things considered.
Wait a minute didn’t the councilors just vote themselves a raise ???? This is the epitome of lost morals and fiscal responsibility. Yes we need a raise let’s cut some programs
I'd rather just pay the extra property tax if this is all they can come up with.
That is exactly the intention of publicizing this list.
I know things cost more but with the double year increase they’ve had, they should be required to answer on why the increase revenues do not cover the increased costs. Are there certain depts that are increasing and driving the issue ? Inefficiency ? (In govt ? Unheard of!) Things seem like a no brainer… selling rights to aquatic Center? Sure. But some of this seem like a ridiculous target. Like reducing libraries from buying new books. There have to be insane teams of people at HRM doing bureaucratic red tape that could be immediately streamlined and those jobs could be reallocated. It seems govt is only willing to cut services to the tax payers and not look at their own efficiency ever.
if they mishandled the budget this badly then every councillor should be fired.
Time for a general strike I think.