Property taxes are going up in Halifax. Services will likely be cut anyway.
In trying to prevent a large tax increase, Halifax councillors face another problem. They have to find more than $13 million in savings -- that means cuts.
“Everything that we’re going to be talking about is going to hurt,” said Paul Russell, councillor for district 15 and chair of the budget committee. “It’s not going to be an easy budget year at all.”
Back in November, staff proposed a eight per cent hike to the average tax bill and councillors directed staff to find a way to halve that. This week, a staff report outlined the possibilities in a long list of potential cuts or ways to raise revenue.
On the list is reductions to transit service and a 25-cent increase in fares.
“I think that’s absolutely the wrong place to cut budgets from,” one transit user told CTV Atlantic on Friday afternoon.
Another proposed cut would see the Halifax Regional Municipality reduce career firefighters through attrition at some stations outside the urban core.
The committee is floating the possibility of charging for street parking on Saturdays in Downtown Halifax and Dartmouth and is considering eliminating the senior snow program.
Reducing snow clearing from sidewalks and weekly green bin pick-up in the summer is also up for debate.
“Having them every two weeks will save almost a million dollars,” Russell said.
Arts are also on the chopping block, including $100,000 in grant money to Dartmouth’s Heritage Museum.
“Losing the $100,000 would mean we would have to shut our doors. We would not only shut our doors but we would lose our jobs and the community would lose access to the wonderful history that we have,” said Joanne Pepers, the manager and curator at the Dartmouth Heritage Museum.
The group started a letter writing campaign and is staying optimistic but is still concerned.
“It is just a proposed cut. However we’re very disappointed we’re on the list as a whole,” Pepers said.
All of items on the chopping block are just under consideration for now.
For the next two months, the budget committee will hear from each business unit with the city – libraries, Halifax Transit and others -- to consider options.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.