Municipal Staff-Council Relations in Theory and Practice: Examining the Hamilton Gore Park Fiasco

This paper examines concerns regarding the roles and responsibilities of councillors and bureaucrats within the policymaking process based on a case study of the Gore Park Rejuvenation Program in Hamilton. The findings reveal that if the expectations of councillors and bureaucrats are not coordinated, problems will eventually occur and, more specifically, if councillors do not prudently assess issues and bureaucrats fail to act responsibly, policies will not be properly formulated or delivered