Hamilton City Council meeting for May 8, 2013 [LIVE Wednesday 5pm]

Hamilton City Council is meeting Wednesday.

Highlights on the agenda:

• Letter from OLG President & CEO Rod Phillips’ about the casino issue
• Launching an investigation by the integrity commissioner into the Mayor’s alleged behaviour at the last Council meeting
• Appointing a new citizen member of the Police Services Board
• Possible discussion of funding cuts to the Children’s Aid Society
• Motion to change the governance of the Hamilton Police Service to be overseen by City Council
• Re-Affirmation of Council’s Position re specting Rapid Transit with Light Rail Transit (LRT) in the Eastgate to McMaster corridor as the Preferred Option

Casino letter

Ontario Lottery and Gaming President & CEO Rod Phillips’ wrote a response to Council’s resolution calling on the OLG to consider only the feasibilty of Flamboro Downs will be considered by Council.

Phillips’ response asks the City to provide a summary of the public input they’ve received – not just a listing of public input steps – and for the City to provide a list of specific conditions for a casino in Hamilton to be included in the Request for Pre-Qualifications that is expected to be issued by OLG this spring.

Integrity Investigation of Mayor’s Behaviour?

A motion put forth by Sam Merualla calls for the City’s integrity commissioner Earl Basse to investigate comments made by Mayor Bob Bratina to City Manager Chris Murray during the Council meeting two weeks ago.

Police Services Board Goverance

Councillor Sam Merulla is moving a motion calling on the province to change the structure of the Police Services Board(PSB) goverance to either have Council directly control the police services or to have a Police Board that is entirely appointed by City Council.

This follows a police budget process that witnessed Council motion for a hiring freeze at the HPS, send a 3.52% budget increase mandate to the PSB, and the PSB approve a budget with new hires in 2013.

New Citizen appointee to Police Services Board

Council is expected to approve a new appointment to the Police Services Board recommended by the Selection Committee. The appointment is to fill a vacancy resulting from the resignation of Jim Kay in January.
The name will be officially public after the meeting.

Funding Cuts to CAS

Council is looking to send the province a strong message about cuts to Children’s Aid Societies. The cuts are resulting in the Hamilton CAS laying off 70 staff – 20% of their workforce. This will result in pressure on other social services, and impact on the quality of life for children in Ontario.

Council asked the Medical Officer of Health Dr. Elizabeth Richardson to report on this and provide recommendations.

Reaffirmation of Council’s LRT position

Council will take a vote tonight to reaffirm their previous position on a provinically funded B-Line LRT