8/18/2019 April 2016 Communique

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HALIFAX DISTRICT COUNCILLOR’S COMMUNIQUEAPRIL ISSUE HAPPY SPRING

Councillor David HendsbeeH.R.M. District

Preston—Chezzetcook—Eastern Shore

Office Phone:  Cell Phone: City Hall: -- Fax:

david.hendsbee@halifax.cadavid@hendsbee.ns.cawww.hendsbee.ns.ca

@david_hendsbeefacebook.com/david.hendsbee

VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION MONTHNational Volunteer Week (NVW) pays tribute to themillions of Canadian volunteers who donate their time andenergy. This year NVW is April th–th, and the themeis: “Volunteers are the Roots of Strong Communities”. Just

like roots are essential for trees to bloom, volunteers areessential for communities to boom. Thanks to volunteers,our communities grow strong and resilient. Even thetiniest volunteer effort leaves a profound and lastingtrace in a community, much like tree rings that appearover time. To help give thanks to volunteers VolunteerCanada has developed programs to access resources andproducts that can be attained through their web-site atwww.volunteer.ca/nvw, by Twitter at NVWor on their Facebook page VolunteerCanada. There isplenty of information and ideas on how to foster morevolunteerism in our society. In our own area be sure tocontact “Volunteer Halifax” at http://volunteerhalifax.ca/.This service links people with local non-profit community

organizations. There are programs to support personswith disabilities, assist new Canadians, help corporationsand professionals connect to organizations in andaround the municipality, and develop individuals’ skillsto advance their careers. Connect with them throughe-mail at: info@volunteerhalifax.ca or via the major socialmedia outlets such as Facebook, Google and Twitter.Here are some other web sites you can explore for morevolunteer recognition items and ideas: www.recreationns.ns.ca/volunteer-recognition-items-/ & www.halifax.ca/ volunteerservices/. Each year the Mayor and RegionalCouncil recognize the extraordinary contributions ofindividuals and groups who volunteer their time and skills

to provide services and programs in our HRM communities.The list of this year’s HRM Volunteers will be available Aprilth. I will provide a complete list of those honoured fromour district in my May newsletter.

SEEKING INPUT ON YOUTH PLANHRM Parks & Recreation Department is reaching out toyouth aged to years old to help create a Youth Planfor the municipality. The overall objective of the YouthPlan is to ensure that municipal programs and services aremeeting the needs of our youth, and will provide the basisfor service offerings over the next three to five years. Youngresidents within the targeted age group are encouraged toparticipate in this process by completing a survey, which

focuses on recreation & sport, art programming, andleadership and job readiness. The survey is live now at www.halifax.ca/youth and will close on Saturday, May th. Surveyparticipants will have the opportunity to win some greatprizes, including the Grand Prize of one of two iPad Minis!The draw is open to HRM residents, to years old,who have completed the survey. Some restrictions apply.Feedback from the survey will be reviewed and consideredby HRM Parks & Recreation’s Youth Team and staff overthe coming months during the formulation of the YouthPlan. For more details about youth programs, please referto the website above.

HRM BUDGETS APPROVEDHalifax Regional Council approved its – Operatingand Capital Project budgets. The million grossOperating and million gross Capital Project budgetswere structured to enable strategic investments and

municipal service enhancements with no increase to theaverage residential and commercial tax bills for this year.

The general rates of taxation on residential property (per of assessed value) will be set at:• . for the Urban area• . for the Suburban & Rural areas

The general rates of taxation on commercial property (per of assessed value) will be set at:• . for the Urban & Suburban areas• . for the Rural areas

Tax rates associated with Transit Services (per ofassessed value) will be set at:• . for the Regional Transportation tax rate and

. for the Local Transit tax rate.

Building on positive forecasts for the – fiscalyear the HRM economy will continue to perform stronglywith steady growth in GDP, incomes, employment andpopulation; all of which will have a positive impact on thefinancial position of the municipality. The combination ofsound financial policies and cost savings found throughservice efficiencies will enable the following enhancementsto municipal programs, services and infrastructure thisyear:• construction of the Dartmouth four-pad arena complex

in Burnside;• investment in rural fire and emergency services;• increased resources and modernization of Planning &

Development services to support anticipated growthand reduce red tape, and establishment of a RuralPlanning Team;

• initial implementation of system network changesdesigned to make transit better through the MovingForward Together Plan;

• continued implementation of a five-year, millioninvestment in transit technology upgrades, specificallythe roll out of the new GPS-based Automatic VehicleLocation (AVL) system and associated passengercommunication improvements. For more detailed

information on the – operating and projectbudgets visit www.halifax.ca/budget.

GREEN NETWORK PLANThe Halifax Green Network Plan (HGNP) is hostinglocal input sessions on Monday, April th, – PM atAuburn Drive High School in Westphal; Tuesday, April th,– PM at Musquodoboit Valley Bicentennial Theatre;Wednesday, April th, – PM at Sheet Harbour LionsCentre; and Thursday, April th, – PM at the EasternShore District High School in Musquodoboit Harbour.For more details about the HGNP go to: www.halifax.ca/HalifaxGreenNetwork/index.php or contact HollyRichardson at -- or richarh@halifax.ca withany enquiries.

LET’S CELEBRATE TH EARTH DAYWhy don’t we plant a tree on April nd! Trees for Earth(TreesEarth) is this year’s theme. Go to www.earthday.org for more events and ideas. This spring the NS CleanFoundation is kicking off the cleanup season with

the Great Nova Scotia Pick-Me-Up—the province’s largestlitter reduction initiative. Registration is now open at www.nspickmeup.ca or by calling --. The CleanFoundation will provide groups with everything needed torun a successful litter clean-up event including supplies,information on how to coordinate your event and a datacard to track results. Be sure to post before & after photosof your pick-me-up locations and post to social mediausing the hashtag GladToCleanUp.

HRM TAX BILL DUE DATE APRIL TH

HRM sends out its tax bills to all property owners twice ayear. The Interim bill was mailed mid-March and is due onApril th. The final bill will be due October st. If you have

questions about your tax bill please call the Halifax ContactCentre at or go to: http://www.halifax.ca/taxes/index.php.

RESCHEDULED C&D PIM MAY TH Due to the snowstorm on March th, the Public InformationMeeting (PIM) about Case —for a proposedConstruction & Demolition Debris (C&D) processing facilityon Highway in Porters Lake has been rescheduled toSaturday, May th with morning and afternoon sessions atthe Lake Echo Community Centre. For more details aboutthis planning application please go to: www.halifax.ca/ planning/applications/CaseDetails.php or attend

the PIM.

IS OPENAIR BURNING ALLOWED?The Open-Air Burning Season restrictions began on Marchth. There is an online fire index map at: www.novascotia.ca/burnsafe. It will ensure everyone knows the risks ofwildfire in all areas of the province each day. The map willshow green, red, or yellow in each county to let us know ifit is safe to burn, unsafe to burn, or safe with restrictions.The map and recorded phone message will be updateddaily. Call Burn Safe toll-free at ---. Thesechanges affect brush burning on domestic propertiessuch as rural residential lots, woodlots, fishing camps andcottage lots. Commercial and industrial brush burning still

requires a permit from a DNR office. For more informationvisit: www.halifax.ca/fireprevention/Burning.php. Be sureto follow all instructions and rules of conduct, and berespectful of your neighbours when you want to burn. Becognizant of those with any sensitivity to smoke. Please bevery careful and burn safely.