In an effort spearheaded by councillors Cameron Kroetsch (left) and Alex Wilson (right), supportive councillors want more tax dollars for their yearly office budgets to, in part, be able to engage with residents’ concerns faster and more frequently. Photo credit: City of Hamilton
In the past number of weeks of budget consultations and deliberations, several Hamilton city councillors had been pushing for an increase to their office budgets.
A significant portion of each councillor’s office budget usually goes towards paying for staff to respond to resident complaints and assist each respective councillor with various other tasks.
The original proposal for the increase came from downtown councillor Cameron Kroetsch and was seconded by Dundas councillor Alex Wilson in the fall.
That proposal was to increase each of the 15 councillors’ office budgets by $80,000 each, a move that would have cost taxpayers an additional $1.2 million per year.
Each councillor currently has a budget of approximately $285,000. The increase would have worked out to over 27 per cent extra annually.
Office budgets accounted for $4.3 million of the 2022 city budget.
The proposal was defeated, but only barely, on a close vote 8-6 as part of early discussions.
But Kroetsch came back with a new motion to instead increase councillor budgets by $40,000 each, which would have cost the city an additional $600,000.
In December, the new motion passed one of the first stages of discussion, receiving unanimous support to be considered further.
The move was approved at a March 1 budget meeting on an 11-4 vote with only East Mountain councillor Tom Jackson, Binbrook-Mount Hope councillor Mark Tadeson, Red Hill councillor Matt Francis, and Upper Stoney Creek councillor Brad Clark voting against.
Their opposition stemmed from wanting to limit the burden on taxpayers, who were already set to face what was going to be a 6.7 per cent tax increase.
Ultimately, the policy came down to the final March 29 budget vote.
Several councillors argued that they had promised constituents during the October 2022 election campaign that they would increase the office budget to serve residents better.
Councillors A. Wilson and Kroetsch were joined by Hamilton Centre councillor Nrinder Nann in strongly supporting the policy.
They argued that they want to increase public engagement in their wards, be able to respond to residents on social media, by phone, and email in a faster and more thorough manner, and be able to pay their staff better wages.
Increasing the office budget would certainly allow councillors to hire more staff or bring on part-time staff on a full-time basis. It would also allow for more mailers or room rentals for public town hall meetings.
The motion’s proponents were quick to note that the increase to office budgets is entirely separate from councillor salaries and that the budgets had not been boosted in about 10 years.
They also said that their current staff are already struggling with high workloads.
Opponents to the motion questioned how Kroetsch and A. Wilson, both newly elected in October, were able to properly judge their need for an office budget increase when they had only been serving as elected officials for a few weeks.
Another argument that was raised is that some of the issues that councillors’ staff respond to, such as potholes, burnt out streetlights, and noise complaints, should actually be fielded by city staff.
But the March 29 meeting had councillors somewhat scrambling to find ways to lower the burden on taxpayers.
While it was looking like the city would see a 6.7 per cent tax increase, last minute interventions saw the budget increase whittled down to 5.8 per cent.
One of the line items that was cut out was the increase to councillor office budgets, ultimately failing on a tied 8-8 vote.
But, given that most councillors were initially on board with the increase, it remains likely that the debate will be revisited come 2024.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
