PROPERTY ASSESSMENT APPEALS 

Property Assessment Notices will be mailed out in mid-January. Then there is a 31-day official Appeal Period from that date whereby property owners can review and perhaps refute their appraisals. You can also access your property file on-line. Your Notice will provide you with an AAN – Assessment Account Number with a PIN to view your data. If you feel it is not assessed properly, then you should contact the NS Property Valuation Services Corporation (PVSC) and speak with an Assessment representative. PVSC Assessment Office is located at Park Place Two, 238-A Brownlow Avenue, Suite 200, Dartmouth, NS, B3B 2B4. Toll-free Phone: 1-800-380-7775 or Fax:1-888-339-4555. Their offices are not open to the public. They are available to answer questions and discuss assessments Monday to Friday from 8:30AM to 4:30PM at 1-800-380-7775 or inquiry@pvsc.ca Property owners are encouraged to call and talk to an Assessor, prior to appealing an assessment. his approach may answer and clear up some questions that you may have, hopefully avoiding the time and expense of an appeal. If not, you have the right to make a formal appeal, (in writing) either by letter or fax which must be received by their office on, or before the deadline date. For more info, refer to your notice or go to: https://www.pvsc.ca/pvsc-forms-and-guides . If you should have any further enquiries about property valuation, please refer to their web-site at: www.PVSC.ca  for more details.

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION TAX RELIEF

The HRM Tax Relief for Non-Profit Organizations Program can help eligible non-profit and charitable organizations reduce the amount of property tax they pay each year.  This program is now accepting applications for 2024-2025. Organizations applying for acceptance into the program (or the addition of another property) must submit a complete application on or before Friday January 31st, 2025. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered, and not all applications will be funded. Every organization accepted into the program in the past must submit an annual confirmation form on or before January 31st as well. This form is to confirm there has been no change in ownership, occupancy of the property or a change in the property use. A confirmation form will be mailed with your organization’s final tax bill and a fillable form is also available on this program’s web-page. Confirmation applications received by the Municipality after January 31st will receive a reduction of 50% up to a maximum of $5,000. This reduction in level of tax relief will be applied to the tax bill(s). If the confirmation form is not received for three consecutive years, the property will be automatically removed from the program. You can find the application and confirmation forms online at: www.halifax.ca/business/doing-business-halifax/tax-relief-non-profit-organizations or by e-mailing nonprofittax@halifax.ca 

MORE OPEN DATASETS AVAILABLE

As part of HRM’s commitment to improving citizen engagement and enhancing transparency and accountability to its residents, the municipality provides public access to its database. Open Data is a permanent service provided to citizens and businesses access to data for download, while still respecting privacy and sensitivity concerns. A wide range of data can be sourced for free through the catalogue, such as transit routes and schedule data, solid waste collection schedules, building applications, development permits, land-use applications and area tax rates. For more information on the municipality’s Open Data program, and to access all the data sets, visit:   www.halifax.ca/home/open-data or contact them via email at: opendata@halifax.ca 

FEDERAL ARTS & CULTURE GRANTS 

The Federal Department of Canadian Heritage (DCH) has a Building Communities Through Arts and Heritage (BCAH) Program. Does your community organize a local festival? There are three intake period deadlines for applications under the Local Festivals component of the BCAH program: January 31st, April 30th and October 15th.   Is there a significant local anniversary in our municipality or in your community in 2024? If the anniversary marks a 100th anniversary or greater, in increments of 25 years (e.g., 125th, 150th) and it commemorates a significant local historical event or pays tribute to a significant local historical personality, consider applying to the Community Anniversaries component of BCAH www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/funding/building-communities/festivals.html . The deadline is January 31st for festivals starting between September 1st and December 31st of the same calendar year. April 30th for festivals starting between January 1st and June 30th of the next calendar year. And October 15th for festivals starting between July 1st and August 31st of the next calendar year For details, please contact them via e-mail at: pch.enligne-online.pch@canada.ca  or call Toll-free 1-866-811-0055 or TTY 1-888-997-3123. 

The Legacy Fund component which provides funding for community capital projects that commemorate significant anniversaries and involve the restoration, renovation, or transformation of existing buildings and/or exterior spaces with local community significance; encourage arts and heritage activities in your community; and are intended for and accessible to the general public For more details about the Legacy Program, www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/funding/building-communities/legacy-fund.html  e-mail them at: PCH.bcah-dcap.PCH@canada.ca  or call them at the same phone numbers listed above. There is no established deadline date to submit a funding application under Legacy Fund component, as applications are accepted on a continuous basis. However, you must submit your application no later than the date of the anniversary being celebrated. You are encouraged to submit your application at least 12 months prior to the proposed start date for your project (or six months prior for smaller projects with total costs of 200K or less).

2025/26 HRM BUDGET KEY DATES

There are several milestones in the annual municipal budget process. Here are the key dates for the 2025/26 municipal budget debates

Tuesday, January 14th – 2023/24 Strategic Performance Report and Snapshot outlining progress on strategic key performance indicators to assess advancement on priorities from the Strategic Priorities Plan 2021-25. 

Wednesday, February 5th – Budget Introduction and Capital Plan Recommendation.

Wednesday, February 12th – Public Safety (including Community Safety; Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency; Halifax Regional Police; and Royal Canadian Mounted Police Halifax Regional Detachment) 

Wednesday, February 19th and Thursday, February 20th – Operations (including Halifax Transit; Parks & Recreation; Planning & Development; Property, Fleet & Environment; and Public Works). 

Wednesday, February 26th – Corporate Services (including Chief Administrative Office; Finance & Asset Management; Human Resources; Information Technology; and Legal & Legislative Services. 

Wednesday, March 19th – Budget Adjustment List Review for items that were add-ons (“overs”) and subtractions (“unders”). 

Tuesday, April 8th – Budget Approval. 

Residents have the opportunity to speak directly to the Budget Committee during the debate process. During each meeting, time is set aside for Public Participation to provide insight and comments from the general public. If you wish to address HRM Council, please contact the Clerk’s Office at 902-490-4212 or by email: clerks@halifax.ca . Anyone can attend in person at Halifax City Hall to observe our deliberations or watch it live or stream it on the Halifax Regional Municipality YouTube channel. 

Please note these dates are subject to change. For more up-to-date information on the 2025/26 budget process, visit www.halifax.ca/budget 

EHS BLUE TAPE AT ACCIDENTS 

Emergency Health Services (EHS) will be utilizing “Blue Tape” to demark accident scenes to alert and advise passerby’s that first responders have already been on site. This tape is seeing more use lately due to the significant volume of motor vehicle incidents. When the public see the blue tape, it serves as an indicator that the situation has been managed and does not require additional calls to 9-1-1. This practice helps maintain an organized and effective response during busy periods. This system helps prevent unnecessary calls and allows emergency services to focus on new and ongoing incidents.