[adrotate banner=”126″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[adrotate banner=”169″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FALL RIVER: <\/strong>The biggest puzzle awaits HRM councillors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an interview looking back at 2023 and the tasks ahead in 2024, the Deputy Mayor and representative for Waverley-Fall River-Musquodoboit Valley Cathy Deagle Gammon said the budget for the coming year is the biggest puzzle facing her and all her council colleagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is the biggest puzzle,\u201d said Deagle Gammon in the interview in late December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She also pointed to the homeless situation as a big topic that every councillor is losing sleep over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need to be respectful, that we all have a role to play, and how do we do that and play well and collaboratively,\u201d said Deagle Gammon. \u201cThat\u2019s the challenge that we’re faced with. We need to figure that out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”31″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate group=”7″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n She acknowledged there are a lot of issues in 2024 coming up, among them being housing, and how some of the provincial bills affect HRM and their powers, what they can do, what they can’t do, what they will do together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere has been sensitivity in the last six months, and it has been in the news, so that\u2019s already out there,\u201d she said. \u201cI do believe that there is significant energy being put towards a better resolution and a better way of working together in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have heard our mayor say that very specifically, so I absolutely agree with that lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need to work collaboratively, and that’s the only way that we’re going to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deagle Gammon said when things get to be so skill specific, HRM does have to trust the people that have that skill set on various issues and topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat skill set exists within HRM staff, some exist within regional councillors and the other exists within our community,\u201d she said. \u201cI appreciate when an engineer calls me up and says, so Cathy, here’s another way to look at that. I’m like, thank you very much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”71″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”148″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most immediate task ahead of councillors is the current budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need to look at what is that budget process, where is it going to end up? Nobody knows that answer yet,\u201d said Deagle Gammon. \u201cWe have the capital budget. We’ve yet to have all the business units present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe got the assessments from Property Valuation Services so we’ll know from the assessment roll and what that revenue component will look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPlus there are significant projects within HRM and we need to figure out what can go forward, what goes forward, and to what extent is some of it pushed off to the next year, or is it carved down? Does it happen? Doesn’t it happen?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deagle Gammon said add in the municipal election in 2024 and that will make this budget year interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis budget will be the last budget of this council’s term,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are many councillors who have said they’re not offering, so it will be very interesting to see who makes up the council of 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”103″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”34″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n She said HRM does their budgeting in public and is fully transparent, whereas other orders of government do not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat we’re voting on every week is very public. We do have people come and do public participation at budget, which is incredibly good,\u201d said Deagle Gamon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs a councillor for District 1, I\u2019m thrilled when our residents send me emails or a phone call saying, you know, this is coming up, we want to share with you our opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOftentimes they’ll say, how are you going to vote on this? And in that moment in time, I’m almost always saying, there’s still more information for me to take in before a decision is made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere have been numerous times where a resident has sent me an email and given me something, a little piece of research for me to look at. I have and it’s affected how I would vote.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”92″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”188″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking at some of the top three highlights of 2023, she had a few that made her list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first is all levels of government working together to get the artificial turf field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHRM has taken the lead. We’re working through that, and construction will start soon, most likely in the spring,\u201d she said. \u201cThat’s like an over $5 million investment that’s being made. I think that’s incredible. It will support the youth in our communities, really all generations. \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next would be her capability to use district capital funds to support nonprofits in District 1 as her second highlight of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen district capital municipal funds being able to use and leverage other provincial federal dollars in a couple of projects,\u201d said Deagle Gammon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMost recent example would be in Carroll’s Corner where most beautiful and talented nonprofit board has been able to do work leveraging all three levels of government and corporate to create an outdoor, fully accessible playground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s awesome and I\u2019m thrilled to see that happening with district capital funds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n ADVERTISEMENT:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”54″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”93″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n The third highlight is being elected by her peers as Deputy Mayor in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI’ll have to concede that’s a highlight. That’s a personal highlight,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She said on another note, one of the 2023 things that she\u2019s proud of is the creation of the Voluntary Vulnerable, Persons Directory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have long been worried about people who may or may not be isolated that if there is a natural or a manmade disaster, how will we know who’s where and what?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey need those kinds of things so having that registry come to fruition it’s an accomplishment that I think that HRM is very proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”105″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”115″]<\/p>\n\n\n\n [adrotate banner=”192″]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [adrotate banner=”126″] [adrotate banner=”169″] FALL RIVER: The biggest puzzle awaits HRM councillors. In an interview looking back at 2023 and the tasks ahead in 2024, the Deputy Mayor and representative for Waverley-Fall River-Musquodoboit Valley Cathy Deagle Gammon said the budget for the coming year is the biggest puzzle facing her and all her council colleagues. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26455,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,957],"tags":[1610,2124,5944,2,50,121,4308,16],"class_list":["post-42343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","tag-cathy-deagle-gammon-2","tag-councillor-cathy-deagle-gammon","tag-deputy-mayor-cathy-deagle-gammon","tag-fall-river","tag-halifax","tag-hrm","tag-musquodobit-valley","tag-waverley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}