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Last year, a new team was elected to lead the Corporation of Hamilton, with a mandate to bring change to the way the city did business.

This diverse leadership team, along with the 130 staff employed by the city, wake up every morning with the primary task of providing city residents and business owners reliable services 365 days a year in a fiscally responsible manner, and giving you a greater voice in your community.

While we are certainly proud that a recent public opinion survey showed that 65 per cent of Bermudians approve of the job we are doing, and that by a margin of ten to one they disapprove of Government's scheme to take over the Corporation, we strive every day to do better.

As a team, we are determined to bring change to City Hall and run the city with greater transparency and accountability.

The new team at City Hall also took action to provide Hamilton residents and visitors safe and secure shuttle service to and from Bull's Head car park. This service continues today and we are working to install more CCTV cameras to deter criminal activity and promote safety in our city.

The City Rangers programme provides additional security in our parks and neighbourhoods.

No additional cost

All of these safety measures have been implemented without any additional cost to the taxpayer. Our goal is for Hamilton's families and our young people to enjoy all that the city has to offer.

Maintaining clean streets and neighbourhoods gives us a sense of pride as it is the basis of the beautification of our city and parks. We also look for ways to commemorate our island's place in history like the recent unveiling of the We Arrive sculpture at Barr's Bay park marking the arrival of the slave ship Enterprize in Bermuda.

The Corporation team is pleased to report that our budget for the Waterfront Re-Development will be under $200 million - a much more reasonable figure in comparison to the half-billion dollar budget figure we were given upon taking office. It is more in keeping with Hamilton, more affordable and will be quite an enormous resource for the city and island as a whole.

We remain hopeful that, like many other cities, we can work in partnership with Government to find solutions and launch joint projects that benefit the community. That's why it's particularly disappointing that Government has chosen to try to abolish the Corporation, rather than work with us.

Rather than spend $800,000 so far on foreign consultants to help dismantle the Corporation, Government could put that money to better use on schools, senior programmes, or police officers that would benefit the entire community.

Rather than spend millions of dollars to dismantle the Corporation in the name of "reform," the Government could heed the will of the 88 per cent of Bermudians in a recent poll that said they want to see local elections continue, and work with us in our calls for real reform that would expand voting rights so that more people have a voice in their community.

While Government attempts a takeover scheme of our city, we plan to save our city and keep Hamilton running smoothly for you.

GLENN SMITH is the Deputy Mayor of Hamilton.

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