Halifax Regional Council weighed in on recommendations for next year’s budget as they met Tuesday.

Affordable housing, transportation and road development were among the topics touched on by councillors.

After hearing from them, Mayor Mike Savage outlined his three main priorities: economic development, a healthy community and transportation.

Savage also said affordable housing cannot be put on the backburner.
 
“As an advocate for people who live in our community, we cannot ignore affordable housing and the need for more affordable housing in this community,” Savage said.

He was responding to questions raised by some councillors as to whether affordable housing is something the municipality should be taking on.

Coun. Linda Mosher (Armdale – Peninsula West) said she wants to ensure council isn’t considering something that’s the responsibility of the province.

“You’re not going to tell me that we’re going to take away money from parks or fixing ailing infrastructure or less police officers because we’re going to go take on something that the province has, so I think it’s got to be very clear,” said Mosher.

The issue raised debate as council discussed what their responsibilities were on the issue.

“We have an obligation to develop policy that addresses those concerns that have been given to us by the province. That is not debatable, we have to act on that,” said Coun. Waye Mason (Peninsular South).

As the newly-elected councillors discussed budget priorities, several councillors voiced their desire to spend more on transportation.

Coun. Jennifer Watts (Peninsula North) said families have told her they would rather not have to use a car, and the lure of better transit options might encourage more people to move to the region.

“And if transit worked really well that would be key to our success that we could be making decisions that would support us in terms of our densification goals,” said Watts.

Coun. Tim Outhit (Bedford) said the city should look at other transportation options.

“We have seen examples of hubs and park and rides and metro links and things that have worked well and it’s probably no secret that I am a fan of rail and ferry,” noted Outhit.

The next council meeting is Dec. 11.