A Failing Grade

It pains us to write this, as we know many employees at City Hall put in an honest day’s work and care deeply about the roles they play in serving our community. But when 80% of residents surveyed—according to an article in  The Hamilton Spectator—say they cannot trust City Hall, that is nothing short of a failure of leadership.

Councillor Clark rightly pointed out that the survey sample size was 300 people, and such data should be interpreted with care. Yet this isn’t an isolated incident, nor is it the first time that the culture at City Hall has been called into question.

A previous staff survey conducted during Mayor Bob Bratina’s term revealed troubling insights: many employees reported feeling they had to leave their ethics at the door just to do their jobs. Other findings were similarly damning.

At a recent team meeting, our Publisher Teresa shared a story that speaks volumes. Years ago, while she and her husband were at City Hall for business, Mayor Bratina invited them into his office for a chat. He referenced that survey and said, with visible frustration, “How can I be the Mayor of this city with findings like these? And worse still—no one wants to talk about them.” That moment stayed with Teresa and her husband, highlighting not only how deeply rooted the issues were, but also the pressing need for reform.

Fast forward to 2025, and we’re still grappling with the same lack of trust . Eighty percent of residents don’t believe in the institution that exists to serve them. This is not just disappointing—it’s unacceptable.

Let’s not forget that even an independent arbitrator once described City Hall as having a “culture of low expectations.” That label stings.

Clearly, something must change.

The task force cited in The Hamilton Spectator made several recommendations, including:

- Overhauling the city’s website and digitizing records
- Coordinating proactive, plain-language communications
- Adopting a “default-to-disclose” transparency policy
- Making equity, diversity and inclusion a foundational principle
- Training politicians and staff in customer service and community engagement
- Creating an independent ombudsman’s office to handle public complaints

We support these ideas. But we believe the transformation must start with something even more fundamental: clear, public-facing service standards.

The Hamiltonian's  founder, Cal DiFalco, wrote to the Mayor, City Council, and the City Manager in April 2024 asking a simple but crucial question:

Does the City of Hamilton have public service standards? Are there measurable expectations for how quickly staff respond to public inquiries, return phone calls, or address service requests?"

In most well-run organizations, standards are made public and regularly reported on. For example, a city might set a goal of responding to 90% of inquiries within 24 hours. These targets should be fair, reasonable, and tied directly to the City Manager’s performance contract—then cascaded down through every level of staff. This would create a culture of accountability, transparency, and, most importantly, service.

The city responded that funding for a customer service strategy was secured through the 2024 budget, but the rollout has been delayed due to a cyber incident.

We appreciate the explanation—but residents deserve more than plans and delays. They deserve action.

The Hamiltonian believes strongly that establishing and upholding public service standards is the foundation of public trust. It centres the purpose of local government: to serve, to be accountable, and to use taxpayer dollars responsibly.

Kudos to Mayor Horwath for commissioning the recent survey. It was a brave and necessary step. But the bigger question remains: What will be done now? It is time for Mayor Horwath, City Council and their lead employee, City Manager Marinie Cluckie to talk plans and tangible results. 

We’ll be watching—and so will the 80%.

Respectfully,

The Hamiltonian

Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash