Down to the nitty gritty!

Hamilton's budget process is well underway. We have already been provided an over view and a number from City of Hamilton staff. The number is a 2 per cent tax increase. There are outstanding deferred issues that might impact on the budget to the tune of .8 per cent if approved. Thursday Boards and Commissions began making their presentations and in the court of public opinion there were winners and losers. For example the Hamilton Police Service brought in a budget request of 4.4 million dollars, an increase of 3.37 per cent for a total allotment of 135,641,540 dollars. Yep it's a huge chunk of your tax bill and the city has absolutely no power to force the service to bring in a zero budget increase. But Chief Glenn De Caire skated through his presentation without taking a knock. Indeed praise was heaped on the service not only for the presentation and their work in the field but for actually listening to the city's request to bring in the lowest budget increase possible. The Chief pointed out that 88 per cent of the total police budget is driven by compensation and benefits leaving little wiggle room to chop programs or equipment. Another winner according to the General Issues Committee was the Hamilton Public Library who came in with a request of a 1 per cent increase over last year. Praise was the operative word again for outgoing Chief Librarian Ken Roberts who retires at the end of April. I had a chance to chat with him before the presentation for once upon a time I sat on the Public Library Board. He leaves well satisfied with what he has been able to shepherd to completion with a spotlight on the renovations at the Central Library. Also receiving praise, although I was surprised no-one asked them about parking fees at Tiffany Falls was the Hamilton Conservation Authority who brought in a zero per cent budget request. One highlight for them, is taking away gate fees Wild Waterworks. Matching the HCA with praise was the Niagara Conservation Authority who upon receiving Hamilton's request for a zero per cent achievement went back over their budget and found enough to get to that position. Now to the losers in the public relations department, and that would be Conservation  Halton. They went before the GIC and requested a 5.3 per cent increase over 2011. The amount of money is small, only 9 thousand bucks but as several councillors suggested that is not the issue. In fact both Councillors Clark and Ferguson asked to be opposed to the Halton submission. As Ward 9's Clark said "we are just ignored". If you didn't know local councils can only request, they cannot order Conservation Authorities to do anything. They can only appeal to a higher authority and virtually never win. That's day one for Boards and Commissions. Tomorrow we hear from such bodies as the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the RBG, the Philharmonic and the Opera to name a few. By the way we got some good explanations on several matters from Ward 14's Rob Pasuta on "For the Record, Council Edition" airing throughout this evening. Check it out on Cable 14.