(@machzy) — Bluesky Profile

5 days ago

I’m starting to get a real feel for how each of these councillors think based on the last few weeks of their voting. And some of their remarks ofc

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5 days ago

DLC is slowly losing all meaning

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1 week ago

someone at the pentagon frantically typing “Claude, open the strait of Hormuz for me, quickest possible strategy, make no mistakes.”

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6 days ago

I'm tired boss.

I just want to get paid then retire. Can I put that down as my goal?

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6 days ago

The last spot I worked at we would spend all of January's 1:1's on this stuff. My boss at the last one brought 5 pages worth of notes on my performance for the year. Could've gouged my eyes out.

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1 week ago

Kathryn Morse on facebook
BUDGET UPDATE; FUTURE OF HALIFAX FORUM;
PROVINCE DRIVING HIGHER TAXES FOR HRM?;
DUTCH VILLAGE ROAD; YOUTH SERVICES SURVEY HRM BUDGET: TEN NEW BUSES AND BETTER ROAD SAFETY
The HRM budget is almost done. As we do every year, Council listened to residents before making budget decisions. We heard many residents are struggling to pay their bills right now and many residents asked us not to raise property taxes.
On the opposite side of the equation, many residents asked us not to cut tax-funded municipal services that make life more affordable, such as transit.
Slowly, carefully and transparently, Council has worked through the budget, cutting spending in some departments and increasing spending in others, trying to find a balance for our growing municipality.
HRM has a $1.3 billion annual operating budget.
Most of that budget pays for essential services such as policing, fire protection, transit service, garbage collection, snow clearing, and road maintenance. In terms of new spending there is very little this year, but here are a few highlights:
-there will be new spending to improve road safety (fast-tracking improvements for problematic intersections; more coordination around enforcement; increasing crosswalk upgrades);
-there will be $14.5 million in new spending for 10 articulated (extra long) buses to improve key transit routes;
-and there will be new spending to add firefighters in Sackville.

To help offset these and other costs, parking fees will be going up and drivers will have to pay for on-street parking downtown on Saturdays. Transit fares will also be going up by 25 cents, likely sometime in the fall. Property taxes are still to be finalized but they will also go up, however not by the 10-11% initially proposed.
Here are some of the items that were suggested for budget cuts that Council did NOT approve:
-we did not eliminate Sunday and holiday transit service
-we did not cancel transit service after 10 pm
-we did not reduce ferry service
-we did not lower bus stop snow clearing standards
-we did not lower sidewalk snow clearing standards
-we did not eliminate curbside collection of larger items
-we did not cut the library collection by $300,000 (HRM residents use their libraries more than the national average)
-we did not raise property taxes on non-profit organizations
-we did not cut arts, affordable housing, heritage, and low income grants by 10%
Council received more emails about the 2026/27 budget than we usually do, many prompted by a social media campaign spearheaded by HRM's largest rental property owners. The rental landlords were demanding Council cut municipal jobs and services to reduce taxes.
However there were residents who argued they would rather pay slightly more this year for the services that keep the city liveable and affordable.
As one resident put it to Council: "Please just bite the Bullet of Unpopularity and increase taxes to the level required. We must all pay for a healthy, functioning community."
The budget numbers will be finalized next week.

HALIFAX FORUM DECISION
There is one more step in the budget process before Council can confirm the amount of the upcoming tax increase. On Tuesday, Council will consider the capital budget which includes major projects like the Windsor Street Exchange, the Mill Cove Ferry and the Halifax Forum.
It's expected that Council will decide the future of the Halifax Forum as part of the capital budget. The Forum is almost 100 years old. Councillors had a tour of the building a few months ago and saw firsthand how the bricks are crumbling. The Forum doesn't meet modern standards and the building is in such poor condition it has to be closed temporarily when the snow load on the roof gets too heavy.
Mayor Fillmore has stated his wish to see the Forum torn down and the site sold to a private developer for higrise housing. Others on Regional Council believe the Forum should be rebuilt and modernized on its historic site, a plan approved by the previous Council.
Whether you play hockey there, attend graduations there, go to craft shows there, or remember Kiss concerts there, the Halifax Forum is an important landmark and a valuable public space in the city's North End. I don't think the Forum should be seen as just another piece of real estate that could be developed. If we start selling our municipally-owned public spaces and heritage sites, what will be left of Halifax? Public buildings and common land should be safeguarded for the common good.

NEW PROVINCIAL POWERS MAY DRIVE HRM TAXES
HIGHER
The Houston government introduced legislation last week that will give provincial ministers new powers over HRM. Some of these new powers may increase property taxes for all HRM residents in future years.
The powers in the bill (Bill 212 - An Act Respecting Administrative Measures for Housing) will allow the Province to expand HRM's service boundary and dictate where new suburban housing development will happen. This will force HRM to set up new water, sewer and other services outside the existing municipal service boundary.
Here's the downside of Bill 212 for HRM residents: by cherry-picking the locations of new housing developments and ordering HRM to expand suburban sprawl, the provincial government will create a situation where HRM property taxes will have to go up to pay for the infrastructure. By green lighting development on the edges of the city the Province will force HRM to raise taxes higher than if the housing had been built inside the municipal service boundary. Sprawl costs us all, as the saying goes.
Here's why: it's expensive for HRM to build new infrastructure like water and sewer pipes to serve low density housing in more remote areas. These new subdivisions will also require additional municipal services such as police, fire, transit, garbage collection, and snow removal. Typically it is much more cost-effective to add new and denser housing inside the service boundary, where municipal infrastructure already exists.

Councillor Kathryn Morse doesn’t post on here, and I know some of you aren’t on facebook, so I’m sharing this informative post from her.

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1 week ago

Well. You weren't kidding, off the rails in the best way possible

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1 week ago

Nothing will fill the off the rails hole in my chest that the Brewcast left 🍻

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1 week ago

Government of Nova Scotia Novascotia.ca is the official website for the province of Nova Scotia. It is the one place to find all government services and information.

You can impact this budget bill. Present to the Public Accounts Committee. It's your chance to tell this government face-to-face how these cruel cuts will affect you and your family.

Sign up to speak on Bill 198, the Financial Measures Act:
Call: 902-424-8941
Email: Legc.office@novascotia.ca

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1 week ago

I'm actually only a subscriber for when it goes off the rails. Can't wait to listen!

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1 week ago

Two white nationalists I exposed in a recent article showed up to try to intimidate me in person last night.

This is a press freedom issue.

Here’s what happened:

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1 week ago

That was a brutal vote count

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1 week ago

No surprise at all that Mancini wouldn't support HRP cuts

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1 week ago

My god he's chatty. Ugh. Gonna be a long one.

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1 week ago

I wish there was a summary of all the Halifax BALs that were voted on after a day of deliberations and who voted on what.

Maybe I'll take a kick at that, if it's not already being done.

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1 week ago

Ah okay, that was my hunch. That we use area rates more than the general one.

Thank you for that, sorry for putting that burden on you!

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1 week ago

Sorry, late to the party, why is the general rate bad?

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1 week ago

Looks like Windsor-style. You must've been over the moon

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1 week ago

Grateful to people like Terri for live posting council meetings. An easy way to stay connected for those of us who can't watch the stream all day.

Thank you!

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1 week ago

Same. It's unfortunate but glad it passed.

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1 week ago

Been a few days since I emailed ~20 MLAs.

Only 2 have replied back to me.

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1 week ago

I'm looking at their Income Statement and I think it's $29M if I'm reading it correctly

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1 week ago

Daaaaaaamn! That Andy burnnnnn! Good for her!

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1 week ago

> He's running out of time.

Thank god

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1 week ago

Nailed it! Great job!

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1 week ago

a man in a suit is holding a microphone in front of a crowd and says `` it 's timeee '' . ALT: a man in a suit is holding a microphone in front of a crowd and says `` it 's timeee '' .

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1 week ago

News headline: NS premier booed at African Heritage Month gala as budget cuts spark upset.

Image of Tim Houston as Mr. Burns and Doug Ford as Mr. Smithers. Quote: "Doug, are they booing me?"

Image of Tim Houston as Mr. Burns and Doug Ford as Mr. Smithers. Quote: "Uh, no, they're saying 'Boo-oze, boo-oze'"

Headline: "Ontario, Nova Scotia sign deal to allow direct-to-consumer alcohol sales."

Tim Houston with some salient advice from the Doug Ford playbook: when in doubt, pour one out.

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1 week ago

HRM Against Austerity | Stop The Cuts! Tell Halifax Regional Council to stop disastrous cuts. Invest in transit, culture, and our future.

I’m really impressed with all the HaliSky folks who’ve come together to advocate for fiscal sustainability in Halifax.
Unlike the astroturf landlord group with their clickbait facebook survey, we now have a website with facts & tools for folks to contact council. Send those emails!
#TaxMeDaddy

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1 week ago

Looks like it's been moved or removed? getting 404 error

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2 weeks ago

Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen, sitting alone on the surface of Mars.

It is 1991. I am 15 years old. The US has gone to war in the Middle East.

It is 2003. I am 27 years old. The US has gone to war in the Middle East.

It is 2026. I'm too old for this shit. The US has gone to war in the Middle East.

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