HALIFAX—Council has passed the city’s budget for the year ahead, including a controversial plan to buy an armoured vehicle for Halifax police.

Halifax regional council passed the city’s 2019-2020 operating and capital budgets on Tuesday, deciding how to spend $955.7 million, with $162 million going to the provincial government for education and other services.

Among the big-ticket capital items in the remaining $793.7 million is $19.4 million for the Cogswell redevelopment project; $10 million for the Spring Garden Rd. streetscaping project; $9.7 million for parkland acquisition; $15.7 million for new buses; $10.6 million for new transit technology; $8.4 million for the new St. Andrew’s Community Centre; and $5.3 million for renovations at the Scotiabank Centre, including a new scoreboard.

But it was $500,000 for an armoured vehicle for Halifax Regional Police that got councillors talking.

Police presented the plan to buy the vehicle, which is expected to cost between $350,000 and $500,000, to the board of police commissioners on Monday. Insp. Jim Butler said they need the vehicle to protect officers and make sure they’re prepared for crises like active shooter situations and even hurricanes.

Councillor Shawn Cleary put forward a motion Tuesday to delete that item from the capital budget.

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“It would be shocking to me to think that we would allow the militarization of our police in Halifax,” Cleary said.

Halifax Regional Police Supt. Jim Perrin told council that the force is “very cognizant of the concept of the militarization of police,” but they need one of these vehicles, which they call armoured rescue vehicles.

“We don’t want to become the military,” Perrin said. “But the incidents that have happened in the country demand to have certain capabilities to be a full-service police agency, and we feel the rescue vehicle is one of those ones that would assist not only our officers but also the citizens of HRM and give the ability to HRP to respond to violent situations.”

Deputy Mayor Tony Mancini, who expressed concern about the armoured vehicle at the board of police commissioners on Monday, said he felt the timing of the purchase was problematic, given the board’s recommendation to suspend street checks in a bid to improve relations between police and the Black community.

“The timing of this I think is rather bad with the very delicate and important subject we’re having right now with street checks and our different communities and trying to repair damage in our communities,” he said. “And all of a sudden, in the same breath, we’re having conversations about a vehicle that looks like a military vehicle.”

Responding to a question from Mancini, Perrin said he couldn’t guarantee the vehicle wouldn’t be used at protests and because police don’t have one, he couldn’t say exactly how it would be used.

Cleary’s motion failed. He, Mancini and councillors Sam Austin, Lindell Smith, Lorelei Nicoll and Matt Whitman voted in favour of the removal of the armoured vehicle.

The overall budget passed with just Whitman and Councillor Tim Outhit voting no. Whitman cited concerns around spending in the capital budget and Outhit said he couldn’t support the budget after council didn’t approve a plan from he and Mayor Mike Savage to use surplus money to reduce taxes.

The vote on Tuesday was the end of the months-long budget process for councillors that started in December, when it looked like the city wouldn’t be able to afford a long list of items without an increase to the average tax bill of more than 3 per cent.

Councillors spent those months moving money around and debating cuts and additions. In February, they voted to use savings and surplus money to move $21 million in projects — including bike and bus lanes and transit improvements — from the chopping block to the capital budget.

Last month, council voted in favour of a just-above inflation increase to the average tax bill of 2.3 per cent — equal to an extra $43 on the average bill.

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That brings the municipal share of the average residential property tax bill up to $1,967 on the average taxable value of $241,390.

The urban residential tax rate will drop in the coming year, from 81.75 cents per $100 of assessed value to 81.5 cents. Property assessments are up 2.6 per cent, so if the rate remained flat, the average bill would increase by 2.6 per cent.

Correction – April 18, 2019: This story has been updated to reflect that Councillor Lorelei Nicoll voted in favour of Councillor Shawn Cleary’s motion to remove the armoured vehicle funding from the budget.

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