LARRY'S CORNER- Hamilton's Former Mayor Speaks

Municipal Service Centers: Unifying the City has a cost

By Larry Di Ianni
(posted February 2, 2009)

Council is still whittling down the budget to a manageable number. As this yearly scenario (about two months too long to complete) plays out, some recurring themes also make the news. One of them is the continuing support for the Hamilton Center for Civic Inclusion, the other is the cost and use of our municipal service centers.

On the one hand, HCCI cost the taxpayers $260,000.00 in support. This is not a yearly amount, but it does cover several years of operational dollars for a group headed by Madina Wasuge, closely allied with SISO, Hamilton's immigrant integration powerhouse. I am glad the city supported Madina even though some on her staff are political appointments, Madina is one of the city's unsung heroes with a wonderful tale of immigrant success in our community. She is a bright, strong leader whose voice needs to be heard. Should the money to support her organization come from the city? That is a good question to ask, but the answer is in the affirmative until HCCI can find enough paying customers in the private sector. Their work is very important in making new Hamiltonians feel included in our diverse community. Inclusion and unity do cost; and the city needs to put its money where its rhetoric is. In this case council has done the right thing.

It is a bit of a stretch to liken the HCCI support with support for the municipal service centers, but the case can be made. These 'city halls' as one councillor called them are invaluable to making citizens of the former municipalities feel as if they still have an identity. These buildings in Ancaster, Stoney Creek, Flamborough, Dundas and Glanbrook are not city halls of course, but they do deliver some services to residents in the former suburbs as well as others. The annual cost to the city is $1.1M dollars. The revenue stream from the Stoney Creek building alone is $500,000.00 from the RCMP rental of that facility. I am proud to have been in office when we negotiated this deal. But the savings go beyond that. For example, the Stoney Creek facility also has a very good library. How much would it cost to rent or build another facility to service library clients? This center also has a policing service facility. Did the police not save rent money when they vacated a local mall and relocated here?

And what does the city get for this relatively small expense in a $1B budget? It delivers services to taxpayers in a way that recognizes geography. It also gets some pretty nice buildings. The Dundas center is a historic and attractive building. Stoney Creek's is state of the art. Flamborough's is pretty unattractive but it serves citizens who otherwise would be forced to drive into Hamilton. Although this drive might teach them that Hamiltonians are decent people, some would resent doing it and it just isn't worth the hassle which would ensue. Ancaster's is also historic and central to that community's identity and Glanbrook's has significance to its older residents as well.

If the question revolves around the viability of these buildings, the answer is to suggest ways which could enhance their use. Like Terry Whithead who feels that the Glanbrook building is always empty, I too felt that this particular building was underused. Not that I doubt staff's numbers, but I am sure that some creative minds could improve this situation. There must be some ways of bringing more people to the building than already use it. For example, could not Tim Hudak, MPP and Dean Allison MP move their offices here? Taxpayers would save money in paying lower rents, the city would receive some cash flow and citizens would find a one-stop political shopping locale where all their representatives were accessibly present under one roof. This model could be repeated for other political teams: Paul Miller and Wayne Marston, Ted McMeekin and David Sweet. Each team represents the same constituency, so each team might be persuaded to move to the Stoney Creek center in one case and the Dundas or Flamborough center in the other.

Finally, I recall during my term that we moved Council meetings to each of the centers for an official session; and we held committee meetings in these same locations when it made sense to do so. It is this kind of reaching out that enhances accessibility as well as accountability for political bodies. There is a cost to this, but there is also a benefit for the community. It isn't always about dollars and cents. It is often about dollars and sense!

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