How does Council Approve a Budget
HRM staff and Regional Councillors work together to determine what revenue is needed to deliver services to residents. HRM creates and approves a new budget each year.
In January 2009, Regional Council adopted new focus areas that will have the greatest impact and set the stage for planning over the next four years. The Focus Areas are: Transportation, Infrastructure, Public Safety Community Planning and Governance & Communication.
The budget planning is based on direction from Council and accounts for any changes requested in the business plans.
Early in the New Year, HRM staff review the costs associated with these focus areas, and brief Council with what is called a “Fiscal Framework”. Council then considers the specific direction to give staff as they prepare the draft budgets and business plans.
In February and March, staff prepare business plans and budgets for the upcoming year to ensure they meet Council’s direction. The plans are then examined in detail by HRM’s Executive Management Team to ensure consistency.
In April, the proposed budget and business plans for HRM are presented to Council for their review and debate. The final approval of the budget, including any changes directed by Council, generally takes place within 2-4 weeks.
For more information on HRM's Budget please visit www.halifax.ca/budget
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