LARRY'S CORNER- Hamilton's Former Mayor Speaks

How to Slay the Budget Dragon in the City of Hamilton

By Larry Di Ianni
(posted December 2, 2008)

I was at a social function this past week-end. A number of high profile Hamiltonians were present as well as a goodly number of Toronto’s political and business entrepreneurs. Most of the political stripes were represented, not that it was a political function after all. However, the room was buzzing with political discussions. I enjoyed immensely talking leadership issues, the melt-down in Ottawa, the provincial scene and, of course the state of Hamilton’s economy and the upcoming budget.

Some of the Hamilton people focused on the impending tax increase wondering what the final number would be. They also talked about some of the notions being speculated by members of Council: pay freezes, City Hall shutdowns, hiring freezes, the cost of reconstructing city hall, the lack of business attraction in the city and other sundry discussion points.

All of these topics interested me, of course, but what I really found fascinating was my chat with a Toronto City Councillor who was also there, Shelley Carroll. I had met Shelley several times at different official functions while Mayor. She is currently Toronto’s budget chief and so naturally we talked about Toronto’s budget and the pressures that city is feeling in light of the economic downturn and the shrinking dollars the Province has to help out cities like Hamilton and Toronto.

I won’t get into the details of Toronto’s challenges. After all, Shelley and I had a quick conversation at a social function. Suffice to say that like all big cities, Toronto will have its challenges this year. Shelley, I should add, is a very bright, energetic Councillor who last year successfully presented a balanced budget for Council to consider. She is one of David Miller’s trusted Councillors and has the ear of the Mayor on important issues. I should also say that as Mayor I worked well with David Miller; and it was he I consulted when we first decided to send the McGuinty Government a $20M bill during my first budget as Mayor. Toronto, I knew, had always received help from the province and I wanted to tap into David Miller’s experience. He was a good ally.

What intrigued me most about my conversation with Shelley, however, was her role as budget chief. Hamilton does not have a similar structure. Had I been successful in my second term, I would have introduced the notion of a budget chief for our city. (More on this topic, later in the essay) In terms of Toronto’s structure, the position is necessary because of the unwieldy nature and size of their Council. But even in a smaller Council like ours, I believe it is important to consider a position which would be responsible for co-ordinating a budget with city staff and consulting widely with Council and the public. The Mayor would obviously have to sign off on what is eventually presented, but a lot of the spade work can be done individually with Councillors and staff. Council’s role would be to give a mandate to the budget chief who would then begin the rounds of consultations. Committees and Council would then have to publicly review the budget document and ratify the final version.

What is the advantage of this? Well, for one thing, it would prevent the ‘decision-making by press-release’ that seems to have gripped Council this year. It would also avoid the embarrassing negotiations by media that have ensued, where the Mayor is disagreeing with Councillors in the paper and other Councillors are commenting that they had the idea being presented, first. Building budgets is hard enough without the sideshows. A clearly defined role for a budget chief would be able to arrive at consensus in probably a quarter of the time it now takes Council to approve a budget. Another advantage of this structure is that the prolonged budget sessions would be shortened, thereby actually freeing up staff to attend to their other duties rather than sitting around the Council chamber waiting for their turn to be asked a question which may never come. I have seen more staff dollars wasted than I care to remember about. As well, we would avoid the negative headlines which often panic and hurt people if someone proposes an untenable cut in programs. These cuts will never be approved, but their mere mention often cause great stress among the affected public at large.

It may be too late for this year, but this is a good suggestion for Council to consider. And who would be a good budget chief for Hamilton? I think most Councillors would agree that Chad Collins has all the qualities that would make him an excellent choice. He reads the budget like no other Councillor. He understands municipal financing and the art of the deal. He also has solid principles of what would constitute a good budget and I am sure would present a reasonable document for Council to consider. The only drawback is that Chad’s style is to lead from the pack rather than to be out in front. If he could be convinced to lead the parade, all of us would benefit.

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