For the last 10 years the city has created a specific opportunity for Hamilton residents to voice their opinion on how to spend their money in each year’s budget.
But despite calls by homeowners, activists and taxpayers demanding the city give them even more time to appear before politicians to talk about a budgetary issue, there has been minimal interest by the public in taking part in the process.
In 2002, a year after amalgamation was established, the city, prompted by residents, established a public outreach strategy for the 2003 budget process so they could have a say in where their money went. It included holding various workshops, opportunities to talk to staff during public meetings held across the city, allowing residents to submit ideas, or express concerns through the internet about where to spend or don’t spend tax dollars.
About 180 people turned out for those meetings. Topping their issues was stopping the Red Hill Valley Parkway construction. Other issues involved more spending on infrastructure, downtown renewal, halting urban sprawl, capping salaries, the need for affordable housing, higher development charges, user fees, and performance measurements for staff.
A few years later, then-mayor Larry Di Ianni introduced a strategy to get the public involved in the budget debate, holding a series of budget workshops, overseen by the city manager and a consultant, to discover what the average Hamiltonian wanted from council. In some respects it was a public relations disaster. While people did attend the events, for the most part, it was criticized for its expense, and for not truly listening to the people’s needs. The results were ignored, corrupted by what the public considered a biased process.
Councillors and staff then decided to simply have a day to allow people to address council unfiltered by any bureaucratic obstacles. Some Hamiltonians did take the time to present their ideas to politicians, especially those folks in Flamborough, who adamantly demanded politicians cut their high taxes and do something about the city’s soaring debt.
But as the years went on, the public portion of the budget deliberations degenerated into special interest organizations asking council to protect their slice of the taxpayers’ pie, while the average Hamilton homeowner ignored the process entirely.
This year’s public session on the budget was, simply put, a waste of time. About six people showed up between the 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. allocated time.  But for the most part, the gallery was bereft of people. From 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. councillors were left waiting to see if anybody would even show up to offer an idea about how their money is being spent.
The reasons for the public’s lack of interest in the budget process vary. Maybe citizens are satisfied that council is looking at a zero per cent budget increase this year, after last year’s record 0.8 per cent tax hike. Maybe homeowners are certain their taxes are being properly spent by city hall. Maybe people don’t like going to downtown Hamilton at night to talk to politicians, and are more comfortable voicing their anger, frustration, and making snide comments on social media sites. Or maybe they don’t care what happens at city hall.
Whatever the reason, it’s a failure on citizens’ behalf to determine the direction of each year’s budget path, leaving staff and councillors alone to craft the city’s financial road map.
To watch politicians patiently waiting for people who will never show up and talk to them about vital services, essential programs, or even to fix a damn pothole on a street, is disconcerting, and shows the disconnect that exists between who governs this city, and the residents who pay the taxes to run it.