‘Everything’ on budgetary chopping block, says Fillmore

Halifax Regional Municipality’s budget committee is looking to slash multi-year project costs in order to account for a $45-million gap in funding for this year’s budget. 

In 2022-23, the committee forecasted a capital plan budget for 2026-27 of $122 million. But the city only has $77 million to work with this upcoming year for capital spending. 

The capital plan budget accounts for the buying, maintaining and expanding of city assets, such as the Cogswell District reconstruction. There are 226 active projects under this branch of the budget. The committee will debate the city’s operating budget, which covers daily costs and routine repairs, next week. 

If cuts aren’t made, the proposed budget suggests property taxes would rise by 10.9 per cent this year in order to fund current city infrastructure and community programs. The average household property tax bill would rise by $283 per year for residents. 

Mayor Andy Fillmore opposes the high property tax raise and is willing to make cuts to programs and projects in order to make the city more affordable for residents. 

“As far as I’m concerned, everything is on the table,” said Fillmore in terms of cutbacks. 

He told reporters on Wednesday that the theme of the budget this year is “the balance of ‘nice to haves’ to ‘need to haves.’ ”

The first project that Fillmore proposed to delay on Wednesday morning was the renovation plan for the Halifax Forum. 

The Forum is a community centre with two ice rinks and halls for events and indoor markets, located in the North End. 

Current renovation plans will cost $126 million, according to Fillmore. 

He put forward the motion to pause the construction plans while experts look into other sites on the peninsula for an equivalent space. He said, according to experts, a similar two-icepad facility can be constructed for around $40 million.

The Forum’s renovations have been debated for over a decade, with the first proposal for renovations happening in 2014. Some councillors said debating the topic again and again is not a productive use of committee time. 

“The problem is, if you just continue to spin your wheels forever on something and never ever make a decision, never actually move forward on it, that is not free,” said District 4 Coun. Sam Austin to reporters on Wednesday. “That comes at a cost too.” 

Austin said the Forum is “not just an ice rink,” it’s an important community space. 

Another project that might see costs cut is HalifACT, the city’s climate action plan. In November, Fillmore proposed cutting its budget by one-third. 

“I think about the long-term cost of climate change, sea level rise every single day,” said Fillmore on Wednesday. “I also think about people’s ability to feed themselves and house themselves every single day.

“The tough job of being elected to this job is that you have to figure out how to balance all of that.”

The project cuts are rising out of concern for Halifax’s future financial health. 

If the current capital plan is followed, the city would be overspending by $1.2 billion over four years, according to the staff report. This would bring the city to a high level of financial debt risk in the coming years, since capital projects are mainly funded by debt and paid off over the course of multiple years. Unlike the provincial and federal governments, municipalities can’t run a deficit. 

Staff will rework the four-year plan once the committee instructs what can be cut.

Budget committee discussions will continue through February and March, before councillors vote on March 31 on the final budget.