Councillors won’t grow funding for RBG this year

Council turns down bid for parity with Halton, some saying that region is better off than Hamilton

Councillors have turned down a Royal Botanical Gardens request for a 23 per cent boost in city funding this year.

But the organization will be allowed to chat up city staff about alternative funding options in future.

Most councillors panned the agency’s Tuesday request for an extra $137,089 increase this year, an amount designed to bring Hamilton in line with fellow regional funder Halton Region.

“It was the growing (funding) gap that triggered this request,” said RBG CEO Mark Runciman, who emphasized nearly half of all RBG members come from Hamilton and the agency is about to reopen its historic Rock Garden after a $20-million radical makeover.

While RBG headquarters is in Burlington, many Halton municipalities are much far- ther removed from the RBG’s physical infrastructure and its thousands of acres of natural lands, he noted.

“I get arguments from councillors, mayors in places like Milton: what does that money do for me?” he said.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger praised the agency, a major tourism draw for Hamilton that is also leading the charge to resurrect the critical Cootes Paradise wetland.

But he suggested a go-slow approach to any budget boost.

“If we can find a way to phase it in over a few years, that might be a more reasonable approach to take.”

Other councillors were flat out unwilling to change the current funding formula, which is based on assessment growth and housing starts in Hamilton and Halton.

Councillors like Terry Whitehead and Lloyd Ferguson argued the current funding model is fair based on how Hamilton’s aver- age income and poverty rate compares to communities like Oakville and Burlington.

“I think most people would say Halton is clearly a more wealthy jurisdiction,” said Ferguson.

“They haven’t suffered an industrial meltdown.”

Coun. Matthew Green said it would be “irresponsible” to hand over the extra cash, pointing out the organization has not spelled out “what we would be losing” if funding is not approved.

Whitehead echoed the sentiment, asking why officials showed up to ask for more money without a business case.

Runciman said the RBG has “toed the line” on five years of zero-budget increases for Hamilton. Over the same time period, Hal- ton’s contribution has risen by six per cent.

“We want to be the top place in Canada to visit as a destination,” he said. “To get to that next level, we have to invest.”

The agency was ultimately invited to talk to staff about possible alternative funding options — and how extra money might be used — in advance of the 2017 budget.

At the same meeting Tuesday, councillors heard budget presentations from all conservation authorities that receive annual Hamilton funding.

That includes the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, which remains at loggerheads with the city over how much it can charge local taxpayers.

Last year, the agency enraged local councillors by unilaterally changing a longstanding funding formula and billing Hamilton for $1.2 million — three times what it had expected.

Council appealed to the provincial Office of the Mining and Lands Commissioner and mediation meetings are expected to take place over the next two weeks.

We want to be the top place in Canada to visit as a destination.

MARK RUNCIMAN

RBG CEO