Hamilton councillors may have endorsed the concept of creating community councils, but it seems they will only thrive in the former suburban municipalities.

After nearly six months of waiting, politicians this week endorsed the concept of creating community councils, then promptly referred the recommendations from the mayor’s task force to city staff and various neighbourhood organizations for review.

“Some of the powers are interesting,” said Ward 1 councillor Brian McHattie. “But what may work in Ancaster, may not work in Ward 1.”

Dundas councillor Russ Powers, who continued holding community council meetings when he replaced Mr. Samson, said “it works for Dundas, it works for Ancaster.

“The principles make sense,” he said.

Ward 2 councillor Bob Bratina was also skeptical a community council was needed in his area. He said there are already about six neighbourhood associations working like a community council in his ward, informing him of issues and providing their opinions.

Ward 6 councillor Tom Jackson said the idea behind community councils was to provide some form of power to the former suburban municipalities in the wake of amalgamation.

He agreed with his other urban colleagues that he already receives public input from existing community organizations.

“I’m pleased to see (community councils) are optional,” he said. “I will continue my model. If my other colleagues want to use it, fine.”

But both Flamborough councillor Robert Pasuta and Glanbrook councillor Dave Mitchell were excited about the possibility of creating community councils. Mr. Pasuta said on June 19 he will be holding what he termed a community council-style meeting in Rockton.

The task force, chaired by former Dundas councillor Art Samson, and created in May 2007, spent six months listening to residents across the city, fielding over 40 pieces of correspondence, discussing the concept of community councils with a professor from the University of Western Ontario, and holding a series of public meetings in an attempt to provide a set of recommendations that will legitimize the operation of communities councils. The series of recommendations were formally given to the mayor in December 2007.

The public meetings, acknowledged Mr. Samson, were sparsely attended, with only four residents showing up in one meeting in the east end of Hamilton.

Still, the task force was undeterred, said Mr. Samson, because their mandate is to invigorate Hamilton’s democracy.

“We are trying to engage the people (with the community councils),” he said.

Mr. Samson recently said local community associations, which expressed some concerns to the task force about how a community council will impact on their access to their local councillor, should embrace the concept.

“It’s not intended to take anything away from them,” he said. “It will legitimize their engagement with their politician and council.”

The recommendations in the report include:

• creating community councils in 2008;

• allow every area (and not ward) to create a community council under a harmonized mandate with not more than 11 members including the ward councillor;

• the term of the community council members will be four years, except in the first term where it will be two years, the same as the sitting councillor;

• the members of the community council will be selected and not elected through the city’s committee selection process. Members are expected to be volunteers, but council can provide a salary;

• community councils will be autonomous from Hamilton city council; and

• community councils will have the power to comment on planning issues, recommend decisions on recreation, street naming, street lighting, sidewalk snow removal, and comment on parking, traffic issues and heritage issues.

Ancaster councillor Lloyd Ferguson complimented the task force’s recommendations, saying they mimic the process that his advisory community council follows.

“The model you are recommending is exactly what we have in Ancaster,” he said.

Advisory councils already exist in Ancaster and Dundas.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger, who made creating community councils an election priority in 2006, said both existing advisory councils will be grandfathered.

Community councils had also been created by former mayor Larry Di Ianni in Flamborough and Glanbrook. Advisory councils were also operating in Ward 8 by councillor Terry Whitehead and former Stoney Creek councillor Phil Bruckler in his ward 9. Mr. Bruckler was also a member of the task force.

Under changes to the Municipal Act, which took effect Jan. 1, 2007, the Liberal government allowed municipalities to delegate powers and duties to another legislative body, including community councils. Community councils exist in some form in the cities of Toronto, Winnipeg, Montreal and Sudbury.

But under Mr. Samson’s recommendations, a Hamilton community council would be a unique decision-making body from the other existing councils.

Community councils will not have the power to tax nor make decisions on planning or personnel issues.