Sam Merulla

Wednesday November 27, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 27, 2019

City probes who leaked secret reports to The Spec

November 26, 2019

As if leaking sewage wasn’t enough, now Hamilton council is targeting information leaks.

According to sources, councillors have directed staff to launch an investigation into who gave The Hamilton Spectator confidential city reports on the massive discharge of untreated sewage into Chedoke Creek.

City spokesperson Jasmine Graham declined to comment.

“Conversations with respect to the Chedoke Creek issue were held in closed session. With that, unfortunately we’re not able to share what if anything was discussed.”

But reliable sources say directions given in camera to staff include conducting an internal probe plus the option of consulting Hamilton police.

The secret reports obtained by The Spec revealed that the provincial government is investigating the spill of 24-billion litres of sewage over more than four years, which could lead to charges and significant fines against the city.

November 29, 2019

The media previously reported on the July 2018 spill. But council, based on strategic legal advice, withheld the two reports detailing the full extent of the disaster from the public.

When The Spec informed city officials on Wednesday that it had obtained the January and September reports, councillors discussed the issue behind closed doors.

During those discussions, senior staff was told to try to find out who breached the rules which prohibit members of council and employees from disclosing confidential information without proper authorization.

Coun. Terry Whitehead wasn’t at the meeting but he strongly supports an investigation.

“Conversations with respect to the Chedoke Creek issue were held in closed session. With that, unfortunately we’re not able to share what if anything was discussed.”

But reliable sources say directions given in camera to staff include conducting an internal probe plus the option of consulting Hamilton police.

The secret reports obtained by The Spec revealed that the provincial government is investigating the spill of 24-billion litres of sewage over more than four years, which could lead to charges and significant fines against the city.

The media previously reported on the July 2018 spill. But council, based on strategic legal advice, withheld the two reports detailing the full extent of the disaster from the public.

When The Spec informed city officials on Wednesday that it had obtained the January and September reports, councillors discussed the issue behind closed doors.

During those discussions, senior staff was told to try to find out who breached the rules which prohibit members of council and employees from disclosing confidential information without proper authorization.

Coun. Terry Whitehead wasn’t at the meeting but he strongly supports an investigation. (Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Wednesday November 27, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 27, 2019

City probes who leaked secret reports to The Spec

As if leaking sewage wasn’t enough, now Hamilton council is targeting information leaks.

November 26, 2019

According to sources, councillors have directed staff to launch an investigation into who gave The Hamilton Spectator confidential city reports on the massive discharge of untreated sewage into Chedoke Creek.

City spokesperson Jasmine Graham declined to comment.

“Conversations with respect to the Chedoke Creek issue were held in closed session. With that, unfortunately we’re not able to share what if anything was discussed.”

But reliable sources say directions given in camera to staff include conducting an internal probe plus the option of consulting Hamilton police.

The secret reports obtained by The Spec revealed that the provincial government is investigating the spill of 24-billion litres of sewage over more than four years, which could lead to charges and significant fines against the city.

The media previously reported on the July 2018 spill. But council, based on strategic legal advice, withheld the two reports detailing the full extent of the disaster from the public.

When The Spec informed city officials on Wednesday that it had obtained the January and September reports, councillors discussed the issue behind closed doors.

During those discussions, senior staff was told to try to find out who breached the rules which prohibit members of council and employees from disclosing confidential information without proper authorization.

Coun. Terry Whitehead wasn’t at the meeting but he strongly supports an investigation.

“Conversations with respect to the Chedoke Creek issue were held in closed session. With that, unfortunately we’re not able to share what if anything was discussed.”

But reliable sources say directions given in camera to staff include conducting an internal probe plus the option of consulting Hamilton police.

The secret reports obtained by The Spec revealed that the provincial government is investigating the spill of 24-billion litres of sewage over more than four years, which could lead to charges and significant fines against the city.

The media previously reported on the July 2018 spill. But council, based on strategic legal advice, withheld the two reports detailing the full extent of the disaster from the public.

When The Spec informed city officials on Wednesday that it had obtained the January and September reports, councillors discussed the issue behind closed doors.

During those discussions, senior staff was told to try to find out who breached the rules which prohibit members of council and employees from disclosing confidential information without proper authorization.

Coun. Terry Whitehead wasn’t at the meeting but he strongly supports an investigation. (Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Saturday January 20, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday January 20, 2018

Councillors back 5 minute speech limit

The days of long-winded repetitive council speeches may be numbered.

After a vigorous 30-minute debate, Hamilton councillors have voted to restrict their statements and questions during meetings to a five-minute time limit.

Donna Skelly, who proposed the speaking cap, said the idea is to impose some discipline on talkative councillors and to be more respectful of time constraints and tying up valuable staff hours.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger called the proposal “music to my ears.”

Eisenberger has previously groused that some councillors waste too much time by running off at the mouth with scant regard for time management.

“I think it’s a good thing to institute some discipline in this process,” said Eisenberger. “We tend on too many occasions to hear the same thing over and over and over again.”

Matthew Green agreed. “If you can’t say something in 500 words (it) probably doesn’t need to be said.”

But the proposal, approved 8-7 at this week’s general issues committee, ran into strong headwinds.

Here’s how the committee vote went. For: Aidan Johnson, Farr, Green, Skelly, Brenda Johnson, Eisenberger, Arlene VanderBeek, Lloyd Ferguson. Against: Merulla, Chad Collins, Jackson, Terry Whitehead, Judi Partridge, Maria Pearson, Conley.

Although Robert Pasuta was absent, the vote is unlikely to be overturned when it goes to council for approval next Wednesday. Pasuta, himself a man of few words, says he’ll support the cap. After all, it reflects his own philosophy: “Think about what you’re going to say and don’t blabber on because who listens?” (Source: Andrew Dreschel, Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Thursday June 1, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday June 1, 2017

Hamilton councillors offer civic rings to former colleagues

Should former Hamilton councillors Brad Clark and Scott Duvall be recognized for their political service to the community?

Mountain councillor Tom Jackson said he “felt bad” those former politicians didn’t receive some acknowledgment for their years of sacrifice from the city and council.

It was one of the reasons why Jackson supported a city staff recommendation to update a policy to give departing, retiring or deceased councillors a civic ring.

March 10, 2011

Rose Caterina, city clerk, said the policy wasn’t updated for council’s 2010-to-2014 term, which meant Clark, who didn’t run for re-election in Ward 9 in 2014 but instead ran for mayor and lost to Mayor Fred Eisenberger, didn’t receive a ring.

Duvall, who was re-elected in Ward 7 but resigned after becoming the Hamilton Mountain NDP MP, also didn’t receive a ring.

Jackson defended the city providing civic rings to former councillors, saying it is some form of recognition of their hard work on behalf of the community.

“This is nothing ostentatious at all,” said Jackson, who spoke on behalf of issuing civic rings during the May 30 governance review subcommittee. “This is just a small way of saying thanks for the many years of service.”

The subcommittee approved the recommendation to provide civic rings to outgoing, retiring and deceased councillors. About $5,000 per term would be allocated to purchase the rings. Councillors Maria Pearson and Ancaster councillor Lloyd Ferguson both supported the idea. (Source: Hamilton News)

 

Thursday March 12, 2015

Thursday March 12, 2015Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday March 12, 2015

Killing rats and licensing cats

(by Andrew Dreschel) Talk about calling in the SWAT team. The ever resourceful Coun. Sam Merulla wants to enlist captured feral cats in the city’s growing battle against swarms of rats.

Merulla’s idea is to expand the local SPCA’s program of trapping, neutering and returning stray cats to the street by strategically placing feral colonies in rodential hot spots.

“If you have an abundance of cats in those areas, those mice and rats are dealt with quite efficiently,” he says.

Last year, the SPCA’s trap-neuter-return (TNR) program treated 355 cats deemed unsuitable for adoption. So far this year, 34 cats have also become program alumni.

Widely-practised across North America, TNR is a humane way of managing fast-breeding wild cat populations and reducing euthanasia rates. But Merulla, a member of the SPCA’s board of directors, wants it ramped up and run by the city’s animal control services in partnership with the SPCA.

The idea came to him when the public health department recently identified rat infestations as an emerging priority and service demand during its budget presentation to council.

According to Merulla, it feeds into the motion he’s bringing to Wednesday’s council meeting for a study on licensing cats to promote responsible pet ownership, control overpopulation, and shave big dollars off the tax levy.

Currently, dogs in Hamilton require licensing but not cats. If they were, Merulla says the revenue could be used to grow TNR and other programs aimed at reducing euthanasia as much a humanly possible.

“The No.1 objective and purpose of all this is to hit the same target as Calgary and become one of the lowest kill-rate cities on the entire continent.”

The Hamilton-Burlington SPCA does not kill cats or dogs. That’s done by city-operated Animal Services, where both intake and death rates for cats is vastly higher than for dogs. (Continued: Hamilton Spectator)