Hall Marks with Emma Reilly

Mayor Everson?

Bratina just can't catch a break this week.

First, Iggy messed up his name at his pre-campaign pit stop in Hamilton. (See my last post).

Now, the Globe and Mail has replaced him with Neil Everson, the executive director of Economic Development.

In a video about real estate in Hamilton, the Globe quotes Everson talking about how Hamilton is a great investment opportunity. The trouble is, they refer to him as "Mayor Bob Bratina."

This video is worth watching for several reasons -- not only for the gaffe over the identity of Hamilton's mayor (start watching about 2 minutes in if you want to see it) but for the horrified expression on one of the anchors' faces when the pundit suggests Hamilton is a decent place to live.

Watch the video here.

Rhymes with "patina"

Whoops.

That was the first thing out of my mouth this morning after Michael Ignatieff, mentioned Mayor Bob Bratina's name at an appearance in Hamilton this morning.

Instead of saying "bra-TEEN-ah," Iggy kept saying "BRAH-tin-ah." I guess his handlers didn't brief him on the correct pronunciation of our mayor's name.

However, it could have been worse. One of the other reporters misheard him and thought Ignatieff was saying "Bratman." At least things weren't that dire.

To his credit, Mayor Bob handled it well and didn't mention it when it was his turn to speak.

Here's a tip fpr all of the visiting politicians who may be making election pit stops in Hamilton over the next few months: just remember -- "Bratina" rhymes with "patina."

 

Weekend links

This weekend is supposed to be grey, rainy and miserable -- perfect for curling up inside with your computer. Here are a few links you should check out.

• The first is a report that went to the Audit, Finance, and Administration committee this week. It recommends against the city providing a $25,000 donation to Water for Canada, a not-for-profit, organization that promotes clean water in the developing world. Staff recommended against the donation because the city doesn't usually provide money to international charities. I thought it was an interesting tidbit in light of Bratina's contentious $10,000 donation to the United Way. City staff are currently investigating whether that donation is kosher or not.

• This video is well worth a watch. It's an encouraging and optimistic look at our beloved city.

"Steel City Love"-high def for vimeo from josh white on Vimeo.

• Finally, you have to check out Mayor Bob's blogsite. It is a biting and hilarious blog written by a very plugged-in but anonymous Hamiltonian posing as "Fake Mayor Bob."  The writer touches on Bob's $10,000 donation to the United Way, the resistance to renovations at the St. Leonard's halfway house, and the correct pronunciation of "Brian Timmis stadium." You can also follow Fake Mayor Bob on Twitter: @BobsBlogsite.

Enjoy the links, and happy weekend!

Emma

How low can we go?

We're smack dab in the middle of budget deliberations at City Hall. Council has yet to dig its teeth into any serious cuts -- we're still in the process of hearing presentations from each department -- so it will be interesting to see how the process will unfold over the next few weeks.  

There's been a lot of talk about whether it will be possible to get down to a 0 per cent increase. (CATCH has written an article about some surprising comments from the Chamber last week that's well worth a read). But it appears Toronto's city council has been able to pull it off. Last week, they approved a 0.16 per cent in residential taxes, which works out to less than $5 for the average homeowner.

Granted, Toronto dipped very heavily into their reserves to make that happen. That's very scary, especially since the T-dot is facing a $774 million shortfall in 2012 (which virtually guarantees a tax hike).

Hamilton will have to cut $19 million if it wants to get down to zero. They will also have to reject all of the enhancements the city's departments have requested (things like hiring extra employees, more $$ for projects, etc).

So, what do you think? Can we get down to zero?