HRM council size up for debate

Like Goldilocks, Halifax municipal politicians considering council size want to get it just right.

A public meeting was held Monday night todetermine the appropriate number of councillors for the Halifax Regional Municipality, as well as suitable district boundaries.

Municipal staff presented several scenarios, such as shrinking the size of council, adding more councillors, or staying with23.

Gordon Hamlin, of Timberlea, said he believes a smaller council would be more efficient.

"I think for the size of HRM, 15 would be plenty. A city the size of Boston I know has 10 and they have two million people, so I don't think we need 23 councillors for 400,000 people," he said.

However, Hamlin wonders if councillors would agree to effectively downsize themselves.

Colin O'Neal, who lives in Halifax's Fairview neighbourhood, prefers to maintain the status quo.

"I think there's a lot of people saying we should have a smaller council. But I believe our democracy is very precious and the more councillors you have the more democratic representation you have, and that's very important," said O'Neal.

Monday's public meeting at the Keshen Goodman library was the first of seven to be held over the next couple of weeks.

The municipality has until the end of the year to submit a recommendation on district boundaries and council size to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board. The board will make a decision in time for the municipal election in 2012.

TheHRM is required to conduct a full boundary review every eight years.