News Release

Kelly Says Provincial Budget a (Baby) Step Forward

(OTTAWA, Tuesday, May 9/06)-- Although it won’t have a great monetary impact on Halifax Regional Municipality, Mayor Peter Kelly said today’s provincial Budget is a step in the right direction for the Nova Scotia government recognizing the funding shortfalls faced by its municipalities.

“It’s not a giant step forward... more like a baby step. But at least the province is moving in the right direction,” he said

Mayor Kelly, who is speaking at a Conference Board of Canada conference in Ottawa on emergency preparedness, said the proposed 0.6 cent reduction in the Mandatory Education funding rate from 35.1 cents to 34.5 cents will still mean a considerable increase this year for HRM-- just not as much as the municipality was forecasting..

The Mayor said HRM was hoping for a reduction in the rate, as well as a funding cap to make Mandatory Education funding more predictable each year.

The province announced that the cost of Assessment Services was increasing by $788,000, and that means an additional increase of $33,000 over last year in HRM’s draft operating Budget.

HRM’s mandatory funding for the province’s Correctional Services is up $370,000 over last year, which means an additional $132,000 more in the municipality’s draft budget. Mayor Kelly said Nova Scotia municipalities had been pushing for the province to phase these costs out.

The province announced an additional $1 million in the budget for municipalities with Nova Scotia Power assets located within their boundaries. The Mayor said HRM’s share is appreciated, but the municipality has been pushing the province to allow Nova Scotia Power to be taxed at full assessment.

The province included $1.5 million in its budget to cover the full cost of grants-in-lieu for municipalities with university and hospital residences. This will have some impact on HRM.

Mayor Kelly said there must be a new protocol negotiated between the province and its 55 municipal units for a fair and equitable funding agreement to ensure that both parties pay largely for the services they provide.

He said about 25 per cent of property taxes collected in HRM go the Province of Nova Scotia toward the cost of providing services its is responsible for, such as education, corrections and public housing.

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Mayor Peter Kelly
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