The Public Record | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site (https://www.thepublicrecord.ca/)
Study after study after study proves the value of local journalism to local democracy. They confirm the decline in coverage of local elections, caused by decreasing number of local journalists as daily newspapers close, is making local elections less competitive and voter turnout is declining more rapidly in communities that have lost daily news coverage. The result is increased corruption in local government resulting from lower accountability.
During the past few years, Council has heard appeals from individuals who’ve had high water usage. Often, these are outdoor leaks and the individuals seek to have wastewater fees waived. By policy, staff are not allowed to waive these fees.
City may experience a record surplus as higher levels of government pick up COVID costs. This compares to his earlier forecast of a $62-m deficit for 2020.
The first COVID elections are worth watching.
The 2020 Mum Show is the 100th year for the popular event, running from October 23 to November 1. Plans to mark the 100th anniversary are delayed until after COVID.
In a short meeting, Hamilton’s planning community and city staff reveal some tensions as transportation engineering review backlogs grow at City Hall.
Creating a safe intersection for pedestrians and traffic at the top of the Jolley Cut is uniquely difficult for many reasons. The consultants who worked on this problem share the designs which do not work – and we get the chance to learn in the process.
Premier Doug Ford announced plans last year to cut local public health funding, accounting changes to implement base funding cuts are being implemented, with “one-time funds” delaying the cuts until 2022.
I was asking myself today if Hamilton Spectator cartoonist Graeme Mackay is already drafting an updated version of his class “Sighs of Spring” Tim Hortons cup litter cartoon.
The owner of Odeon Fitness wrote Hamilton City Council this week asking them to expand the City’s mandatory masking bylaw to include indoor fitness facilities.
Overall, the Library expects a end of the year surplus of $879,000. With the reopening of branches, this is likely to be a one-time “surplus” due to increased cleaning and other COVID related costs.
Renovation of TD bank branch into a library will include an outdoor reading patio and extended self-service access hours.