The Mayor of Hamilton last night pledged to work with Government on the reform of the municipalities — but would not rule out the possibility of legal action.

Charles Gosling, who has been locked in a war of words with Government in recent weeks, told The Royal Gazette he was optimistic that the two sides could resolve their differences.

Mr. Gosling, who previously claimed the Municipalities Reform Act would lead to "death by financial strangulation" for the Corporation of Hamilton, said he is now looking forward to meetings with Cabinet Minister Zane DeSilva.

He said his change of heart came after Government Ministers explained the bill and answered questions during a debate lasting more than eight hours in the House of Assembly on Friday.

"It came down to how the Government was presenting the bill and how they were answering the questions," he said. "For example, when it came to wharfage fees], they said rather than just taking it away, they very well may pass it back to the Corporation. Legal action is not completely off the table, but what we would prefer to do is have a discussion with the Minister."

The Act was approved in the House and is expected to go before the Senate before it becomes law. Mr. Gosling said he hoped dialogue could begin as soon as possible now that both parties have a better idea of where they stand. "We feel that we are open for new and different ideas and hopefully we will be able to reach a place where we have two governments that work in parallel."

While there have been no formal talks between the two bodies since the Act was passed, Mr. Gosling said he called Minister without Portfolio Mr. DeSilva on Friday night to apologise for an incident which took place outside the House of Assembly.

During a protest organised by City Hall, a group of protesters surrounded Mr. DeSilva's car with him and his family inside and banged on it, chanting "coward". Mr. DeSilva has claimed racism was behind the action [see separate story].

"It is a shame that a few people really got carried away in the heat of the moment and went beyond the call of duty," said Mr. Gosling.

"I called and apologised. I cannot condone that sort of behaviour. We all have the right to freedom of speech but that comes within reason."

The Municipalities Reform Act 2010 removes the ability of the Corporation to levy wharfage fees, something the municipality says accounts for 35 percent of its revenue.

"Wharfage is our rent for use of our land," Mr. Gosling explained. "We obviously cannot charge rent for our streets and our sidewalks but we need to be able to pay for their upkeep."

He said he felt Government was concerned as to how the Corporation was using its money.

"They seem to think we are a for-profit enterprise and we are not. Some years we do manage a profit, but that all goes toward various capital projects."

Another topic of debate on Friday was changes to who can vote in municipal elections.

Under the previous law, only those who paid taxes to the Corporation were able to vote, limiting the number of eligible voters in Hamilton to a few hundred.

The Reform Act allows anyone who is registered to vote and lives in the municipality to cast their ballot, taking the vote away from business owners.

Mr. Gosling said he was optimistic that the bill could still be changed to allow both residents and businesses a chance to vote.

"The Premier sounded open for amendments on that," he said. "The larger the franchise, the better"

In the House, Bermuda Democratic Alliance MP Mark Pettingill put forward amendments that would have given the right to vote to Bermudian building tenants, registered business owners and employees, along with residents.

While he argued that tenants and business owners have an interest in what happens in the city, his proposed amendments were not adopted.

"I think his proposal went a little too far with who could vote," Mr. Gosling said. "I think there is still some middle ground that could be found.

"Now is the time to begin the process of coming together, working together, and finding consensus that is in the best interests of all of the City of Hamilton's residents, workers, businesses and employees."

Former Corporation of Hamilton Councillor Graham Outerbridge said he was happy the bill passed and hopes the city is able to retain its wharfage.

"It is my hope Government keeps its promise and will continue to provide the seven million from wharfage to the city with approved budgets and strict oversight.

"The Government is correct to have done away with the business and nominee vote."