|
Councillor’s
Communiqué : March 2005 - Issue # 88
 |
|
|
REGIONAL PLAN
OPENHOUSE |
|
|
In December 2004,
HRM Council endorsed a proposed Regional Plan for
public consultation. This decision provides a clear
direction on how HRM will grow over the next 25
years. Visit HRM's Regional Planning website at
www.halifax.ca/regionalplanning
for more information on the proposed Plan. There
is a link to the "Guide to the Proposed Regional
Plan". Simply click on the icon to open it. Hard
copies of the guide are available at HRM libraries,
recreation centres, customer service centres or in
the ferry terminals. Or contact the Regional
Planning Project Office at
regplan@halifax.ca or 490-5857 to have a copy
mailed to you. There is a survey inside or an
on-line version can be filled out:
http://www.halifax.ca/regionalplanning/documents/ProposedRegionalPlanGuide.pdf
These surveys are somewhat time-sensitive, therefore
HRM staff would like to have them returned by March
20th. Over the next few months, the Regional
Planning Committee will be consulting with a variety
of resident, community and special interest groups.
If you would like HRM staff to cover the Regional
Plan at your group's meeting, please contact the
Regional Planning Project Office. The proposed
Regional Plan will be presented for review and
feedback at public forums around the region. The
next forum will be on Wednesday, March 9th at the
Porters Lake Community Centre, # 4693 - Highway #7,
Porters Lake, from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm. A
presentation will begin at 7:00 pm. Your views and
insights are important. So please attend and express
your opinions. |
|
|
HRM STARTS BUDGET
TALKS |
|
|
HRM Financial
Services staff presented the 2005-06 Budget before
Regional Council on Tuesday, Feb. 22nd. Afterwards
the budget was critiqued the during the various
Committee of the Whole meetings that followed over
the next week or so later. HRM staff also held some
information sessions entitled;
"How is HRM Spending Your Tax Dollars?" during the
various Community Council meetings. The Marine
Drive, Valley & Canal Community Council for
Districts 1, 2, and 3 was held on Monday, Feb.28th
at the Gaetz Brook Legion. These sessions were
designed to provide opportunities for citizen input
into the budgetary process, as well as to enable
staff to address any concerns and issues regarding
the proposed Budget. HRM has developed a new
information campaign to better communicate complex
budgetary information to the general public. It is
hoped that it will deliver a clear, concise
understanding of where municipal tax dollars are
being spent, and how the budget tries to address the
needs of citizens. These presentations were expected
to inform residents about upcoming financial issues
and challenges and hopefully lead to a better
understanding of HRM's financial effort. If you were
unable to attend these meetings, then please pass
along your thoughts, ideas or comments regarding the
2005-06 Budget to HRM. Contact the Budget Help Line
at 490-5399; the HRM Call Centre at 490-4000 or
e-mail them at:
budgethelp@halifax.ca or mail your comments to:
HRM - Financial Planning, 3rd Floor Duke Tower, 5251
Duke Street, PO Box 1749, Halifax., NS, B3J 3A5. |
|
|
HRM & NS LOBBY
OTTAWA |
|
|
Mayor Peter Kelly was in
Ottawa on Feb. 17th & 18th to participate in the Big
City Mayor's Caucus meetings. He chairs one of six
advocacy working groups of the Federation of
Canadian Municipalities (FCM) dealing with various
social and economic issues facing the country. Mayor
Kelly met with Infrastructure and Communities
Minister John Godfrey to discuss a number of related
issues. As Chair of the FCM's Public Safety and
Emergency Preparedness Working Group, Mayor Kelly
also met with Deputy Prime Minister Ann McLellan to
discuss issues related to emergency preparedness. On
a related subject about the need for a thorough
clean-up of Hurricane Juan damage within the
Quarantined Beetle Zone, I, as your Councillor, had
the privilege to attend a meeting in Ottawa on
Monday, Feb. 21st with the Federal Natural Resources
Minister John Efford, along with NS Natural
Resources Minister Richard Hurlburt and Eastern
Shore MLA Bill Dooks to discuss the possibility of
funding a joint companion federal-provincial program
to clear up the massive tree debris and help reduce
the wild fire risks within our District and others
areas. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
