The potential tax hike remains well above council’s target after detailed budget discussions at the committee level wound up last week with some risky decisions. That could mean revisiting policing costs and other tentative departmental approvals to find more cuts when the full council confronts the budget on Tuesday morning.

The company managing Hamilton’s airport may be forced to publicly defend its refusal to release its financial audits. In a new twist to the long-running battle for transparency, Brad Clark introduced a motion yesterday intended to get around conditions in the secret lease agreement between the city and Tradeport International Corporation.

Update Regarding Liability Claims Related to Heavy Rain Flood Events 2005-2009 (FCS10001) (City Wide) Residents flooded in last summer’s extreme rainstorms have collected nearly $3 million in compassionate grants. But damage claims against the city by insurance companies from nine other major storms since 2005 have so far all been denied.

Will Hamilton need “municipal encouragement officers” to ensure that aerotropolis development is environmentally friendly? The draft rules for the airport employment growth district that were released this week are loaded with declarations of good intentions, but whether they will remain optional or become mandatory is ultimately up to city council.

In a controversial decision earlier this month, council approved a staff recommendation to set parking meter rates to $1 per hour and to add meters in downtown Stoney Creek, Ancaster and Waterdown, as well as on Locke Street. The decision came after the presentation below, delivered by the city’s Senior Director of the Parking and Bylaw Services Division, and transcribed by CATCH.