Halifax council approves budget

Halifax regional council approved the 2016-17 budget on Tuesday.

Council voted unanimously on an operating budget of $873 million and a capitol budget of $198 million.

Coun. Gloria McCluskey, says taxes won’t go up for most HRM.

The tax rate has technically decreased for residents. Bruce Fisher, manager of financial policy and planning for HRM, says this means 95 per cent of homeowners will pay the same or less than last year on their property tax.

The storm water right-of-way charge will increase from $39 to $42 per property for those residing within the Halifax water service storm area.

The budget includes spending for upcoming multi-year projects totalling nearly $125 million.

These projects include:

• A public WiFi project with a total cost of $3 million
• A project to widen Herring Cove Road at a cost of $500, 000
• Building of multi-pad rinks in Dartmouth, costing $43 million

Residents will pay the same amount to support transit as last year with the transit tax rates remaining the same.

A multi-year project to upgrade transit technology is underway. The new technology comes at cost of almost $23 million.