Apr 1, 2026
I wrote this one a bit of out order. I’ll come back to part 5 which will detail the lengthy Budget Adjustment List debate undertaken by Council. This post elaborates on the remarks I made prior to Council’s vote on the budget, with the simple message that...
Mar 30, 2026
In part four of my budget series, I continue to go through the steps Council and staff go through to arrive at the final HRM budget. In the next stage, we get the draft budget, and hear from each of the business units across the municipality. Council resumes the...
Mar 30, 2026
In part three of my budget series, I walk through the steps Council and staff go through to arrive at the final HRM budget. Even in just the two budgets I’ve been through, there have been some changes to how we go through it. I’ll focus on this year’s process, which I...
Mar 27, 2026
In part two of my budget series, I continue with some definitions and context around the budget; here I’ll provide my perspective on reserves, as well as the tax bill and the Provincial tax cap. What are Reserves? Another term you may have heard thrown around during...
Mar 27, 2026
There’s really two big blocks of the budget – operations and capital. Operations is cash-flow oriented. Money in to pay for services out. At least that’s the simplest way to view it. Municipal operating costs are salaries for the people delivering municipal...
Mar 27, 2026
A Budget Discussion Primer Note: I’ve done my best to be as complete as possible in my description of the process as I have experienced it and as I have come to understand it from my perspective. In the time I’ve spent on HRM Council, my professional life as a... 
