The Public Record and the City of Hamilton City Manager’s Office have reached an understanding following last week’s incident involving the removal of TPR from a meeting of the Property Standards Committee.
Andrea McKinney, Director of Communications for the City of Hamilton, issued the following statement this morning:
First, on behalf of the City Manager’s Office and as Director of Communications, I’d like to acknowledge that I regret the events of last week and the confusion it caused more broadly. The relatively new Broadcasting Policy of the Property Standards Committee, was intended to bring more structure to decision making in a court like process, recognizing there are at times vulnerable participants in the process. In retrospect, there are parts of the policy that could have been clearer to enable that. I appreciate the feedback that has been received. Further to our discussion we are going to make proposed revisions to the Property Standards Committee for approval, and there will be an opportunity to participate further in that process. We are also going to look at creating a consistent policy between the City’s Administrative tribunals, and communicate that accordingly on the website, as we want to ensure there is a consistent experience for members of the public and the media. I also want to clarify this did not apply to Council, or its sub-committees, nor was it approved by Council.
I personally thank Ms. McKinney for her efforts in reaching this understanding over the weekend. I cannot understate the extent of her efforts, including many late night emails as we neared this understanding.
Ms. McKinney and I also resolved a wide-range of issues. Effective immediately, the relationship between TPR and the City’s civil service has returned to where it was in 2014.
I wish to thank all of you in the community who’ve supported my independent journalism, especially during this difficult past two years. You had my back, and I’ve never been prouder to be a Hamiltonian.
I thank all of you for allowing me to be the first crowd-funded local journalist in Canada.
I have one ask of you today, for those who communicated with Ms. McKinney last week, please take the time to respond to her with thanks for responding to our concerns.
Thank you,
Joey Coleman
Independent Journalist
Proud Hamiltonian