Mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality.
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Joined June 2010
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An audit should lead to real change.
This week, Audit & Finance unanimously backed stronger accountability for HRM’s capital budgeting reforms: clear milestones, responsible leaders, and measurable results.
We need to know that problems are being fixed, not just that recommendations were accepted.
Read my latest Blueprint here: mayorandyfillmore.substack.c…
Traffic is brutal. We all feel it.
We need practical solutions: freeing up road space in construction areas, directing traffic at busy intersections, and doing more roadwork overnight or on weekends.
I'm bringing this to Council tomorrow. It's time we do better.
ctvnews.ca/atlantic/nova-sco…
When there are more people looking for homes than homes available, everyone ends up competing for the same limited supply.
We need to build more homes, faster, at a price people can actually afford.
Credit: Bruce MacKinnon / The Chronicle Herald
A checklist can tell us whether an action was completed.
It can't tell us whether the problem was fixed.
That's the challenge facing HRM as it implements the Auditor General's recommendations on capital planning.
The administration's Action Plan is a positive step.
Now we need clear accountability, measurable results, and evidence that Council is getting better information on project costs, priorities, and trade-offs.
Success isn't 9 recommendations marked "complete."
Success is better decisions with taxpayer dollars.
My latest Blueprint looks at what's next and the questions Council should be asking: mayorandyfillmore.substack.c…
Let's talk about HRM's budget.
Our region is growing, and we need to keep investing in the services and infrastructure residents rely on.
But residents are also facing higher costs everywhere they turn.
We can't do everything at once. We need to make clear choices about what we protect, where we invest, and how we deliver better value.
Before we determine what residents should pay, we need to decide what matters most.
That's why I want to hear directly from you.
Join me at an upcoming budget session or share your priorities through our online survey: halifax.ca/city-hall/mayor-a…
Fiscal discipline isn't about saying no.
It's about asking the right questions before we say yes.
The Municipal Auditor General's recent Capital Budget Audit identified important weaknesses in how projects are evaluated, prioritized, and costed.
The challenge isn't deciding whether these needs are real. It's determining which investments should come first, how they should be delivered, and how we can ensure taxpayers receive the greatest value from every dollar invested.
And that means understanding the full costs, considering alternatives, and being clear about the trade-offs involved in every decision.
Read more in my latest Blueprint article: mayorandyfillmore.substack.c…
Good decisions depend on understanding the numbers in front of us.
The Municipal Auditor General's Capital Budget Audit identified gaps in how HRM develops and documents cost estimates for major infrastructure projects.
When Council is making decisions involving millions of taxpayer dollars, we need to understand not only what a project is expected to cost, but how confident we are in that number.
As Halifax grows, we'll need major investments in transportation, housing-supporting infrastructure, and public services.
Better estimates won't eliminate uncertainty, but they can help Council make more confident decisions and better manage public money.
Read more: mayorandyfillmore.substack.c…
When everything matters, what comes first?
HRM has no shortage of worthwhile projects. We need housing-enabling infrastructure, transportation improvements, renewed public assets, and more.
But we can’t do everything at once. That's why prioritization matters.
As Halifax enters a period of significant growth, getting these decisions right has never been more important.
I expect a clear and accountable Action Plan that strengthens HRM's project prioritization process and improves transparency around major investment decisions.
We can’t do everything at once. But we can get much better at deciding what comes first.
Read more in my latest Blueprint article: mayorandyfillmore.substack.c…