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Originally Posted by pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce
It's interesting to think back about those days. With amalgamation came a good deal of optimism (or perhaps naivete) from citizens of the old city thinking somehow that their financial issues might be mitigated through this unholy union. The feeling at the time was that the first mayor of the new city would have to come from the burbs in order to appease the masses. There was also some guilt from 'old Hamiltonians' as the perception was that this would be good for Hamilton but bad for everybody else. Turns out it's been sh*t for just about everyone.
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I don't think a lot of people realized how much was handled by the old Region of Hamilton-Wentworth vs. what was handled by each of the municipalities. We'd still be dealing with a lot of region-wide issues today, though at the "higher" level of government.
I also don't think the "benefits" of this arrangement were properly analyzed. Duplication? Yes there were costs there, but because many things were already handled at the regional level, there was not duplication in all things. As a result, the cost savings of one bigger bureaucracy vs. having 6 + 1 were massively over-estimated. And the costs of losing local autonomy, in the things that were not a regional responsibility, were probably under-estimated.
We probably can't go back to the old system, but it sure would be nice if there was leadership that could unify the now 12+ year-old amalgamated city. He or she would be worthy of adding to this thread.