Before the New Year resolutions fade away in the rear view mirror, there are a few wishes we would like to see happen within the Hamilton community.
To be sure, there were a number of positive developments that emerged in Hamilton, including the city getting a new stadium (even though the public didn’t want one), a record low tax increase, the U.S. Steel labour settlement, Canada Bread announcing a new division to be built on Nebo Road, and reduced tensions between suburban and rural communities.
But as anyone in Hamilton knows, there remains much work to be done to make the city the best place to raise a child, especially when politicians, bureaucrats, and influence peddlers have their way.
So here are some observations that Hamilton’s best and brightest may want to do something about in 2012, and beyond.
Openness: The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, despite repeatedly being caught keeping vital public information secret from taxpayers, remains oblivious to a basic fact that it’s essential to be open to the public. Trustees — who are suppose to represent the people — and bureaucrats remain arrogant in the extreme, continually treating public questions with contempt. If any government entity needs a top-to-bottom democratic reform, the public board is the poster child for a new way to do the public’s business.
Transparency: Close on the heels of the public school board is the closed-door environment that the Hamilton Police Service Board defends, where secrecy is an accepted part of the job requirement and not the exception. It was only because of a Hamilton Community News FOI request that the Hamilton public saw its full budget. Has the police service learned its lesson? No. Their reason for budget increases is to cover rising salary costs. But last year’s budget numbers tell a different tale. A lot of its money goes to other areas, such as accommodation. Why?
Responsibility: The first full year of Mayor Bob Bratina’s tenure was filled with a number of positive accomplishments. But they were overshadowed due to the antics of Bratina and his chief of staff Peggy Chapman. (Yelling at councillors behind closed doors. Running to escape reporters’ questions. Really?) The $30,000 salary hike imbroglio was only the cherry on top of a series of bizarre episodes by both individuals that left politicians fuming, and residents frustrated. Both need to remember they are representing the community of Hamilton.
Leadership: One of the most disturbing aspects of 2011 was the acceptance of Hamilton’s poverty rate. Even though more children live in poverty, and the rate continues to hover around the 18 per cent area, social activists received a deaf ear from the city, especially from the mayor. In a year of accomplishments, the marginalization of the city’s poverty was a notable black mark.
Hope: A trending improvement in the city has been the alliance struck between suburban and former city of Hamilton communities. Council’s area-rating solution reached last spring proved that post-amalgamation anger can be assuage under the right circumstances. But there still remains a lingering problem of devoting a large portion of the city’s resources into beefing up the downtown core, while ignoring the needs of the suburban areas. The parking issue, for instance, remains a troubling sore point that needs fixing. Improving the infrastructure and boosting service levels are areas that have been needed, and would go a long way to prove Hamilton does include the suburban areas in its future.
Ignorance: The Conservative government has shown it is no friend of Hamilton. That was made plain with its refusal to provide the full funding for late city and non-profit stimulus projects. The Conservatives are also washing its hands of the toxic hell that lays underground at the Hamilton Airport lands.
Fear: As the city walks further down the Pan Am Games tunnel, taxpayers and politicians are more in the dark about what is happening than ever before. The province continues to dictate the financial and political terms, while taxpayers are forced to pay ever-rising costs on an event that looks more like a boondoggle than the famed world-class spectacle that was promised the city.