Is the mayor a man of his word?
The Spec has reviewed Fred Eisenberger's highest-profile promises to see how he's faring in the early days of campaigning for a fall election
January 16, 2010
Emma Reilly
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/706131
Done
Freeze mayor's salary for two years.
Eisenberger fulfilled this promise months after taking office.
Bring flowers back to the medians.
Council gave this the go-ahead during the 2007 budget process.
Start a mayor-for-the-day program.
This program runs regularly for students in Grade 5 and up.
Install bike racks on city buses.
The HSR finished installing racks on all 204 of its buses in October 2007.
Enact an anti-idling bylaw.
Council passed the bylaw in May 2007, though it was at risk of dissolving because council had no way to enforce it.
Create an integrity commissioner.
Develop a code of conduct for council.
After months of delay, Earl Basse began his tenure as integrity commissioner Jan. 1. This is a big victory for Eisenberger, though it took the majority of his term to fulfill this promise.
Embrace community advisory councils.
Council OKed the creation of community councils in May 2008. There are three -- it's still optional for local councillors to create them.
Maintain area rating.
Eisenberger wants to maintain the controversial system, though he argues it needs to be updated. He led the charge to defer any changes to area rating until after October's election.
Revitalize economic development through a non-profit agency with a $3-million budget.
Though the city didn't form a new non-profit agency, council doubled the economic development budget to $3 million.
Not done
Hire 100 new police officers.
The complement of police officers in Hamilton grew from 758 in 2006 to 793 in 2010 -- an increase of only 35 new positions.
Speed up the harbour cleanup.
Eisenberger's office counted this promise as complete due to a funding boost for cleanup from the province. However, in November, Environment Canada said an environmental assessment -- expected last August -- won't be finished until this spring. Reasons cited for the delay include a lack of local funding and design changes.
Ban all corporate and union donations to candidates seeking re-election.
Eisenberger faced roadblocks from both council and the province on this issue.
"Council decided not to go down that path, and chose to ask the province to change the legislation to ban corporate and union donations across the board," he said. "They chose not to do that."
Prohibit elected officials from accepting fees, gifts or personal benefits from their constituents.
Council voted to implement a $200 threshold for reporting gifts, but gifts from constituents are still allowed.
"A ban means that you couldn't take a cup of coffee," he said. "We've set some parameters ... I think that's much improved."
End the lawsuit against the federal government, its employees and former politicians, over the Red Hill Valley Parkway.
Eisenberger has made repeated attempts to drop this suit, though he hasn't been able to get it past council.
Replace ward numbers with names.
According to Eisenberger, there wasn't enough of an appetite on council to make the switch.
"I really didn't want to have that fight, to be honest," he said.
Impose limits of two, four-year terms for mayor and council.
This is another promise that requires provincial approval -- and so far, that hasn't happened. Eisenberger says council hasn't been interested in imposing term limits voluntarily.
Create a development office to help new immigrants open businesses.
Eisenberger says Settlement and Integration Services Organization (SISO) has sufficiently met this need in Hamilton.
Kill the tax-free portion of mayor's and council's salaries.
Council voted against this proposal in 2007 when they voted to raise their salaries.
Institute free parking in the downtown core after 5 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends.
Though there is some free parking downtown in the evenings, it doesn't go as far as Eisenberger promised in his campaign.
However, Eisenberger says the current system is "robust enough" and providing entirely free parking would be "more complicated."
Hire an independent auditor.
After reviewing the city's auditing process, Eisenberger says the process was "independent enough" and didn't need to be updated.
In progress
Create a lobbyist registry.
The city has created a volunteer lobbyist registry - but there's only one name on the list. The accountability and transparency committee has only just begun its research into the process.
Reduce rural and suburban taxes by increasing the downtown tax base.
The city has boosted its commercial and industrial tax base over the past year. However, residents still provide the city with more tax income than any other sector.
Create a waterfront development corporation.
In September, council directed staff to come up with a detailed proposal for a waterfront corporation that includes a specific mandate, governance structure and potential startup and operating costs.
Pressure the provincial government to take downloaded social services off the city's tax base.
It will take seven years for the province to fully upload social services. Hamilton won't see any benefits until 2012.
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