Community activist Charles Spanswick has renewed calls for the Corporation of Hamilton to be turned into a business management company after continued vandalism snags the city.

Mr. Spanswick criticised the Corporation for allegedly allowing the city's image to "deteriorate" to the embarrassment of those who live and work there.

Recently, vandals struck in the heart of Hamilton overnight, spray painting street signs and trash receptacles on Parliament and Victoria Street. This week Mr. Spanswick found broken city signs during his daily walk.

"Sundays is my big walking day, I do a tremendous big walk around the city," Mr. Spanswick explained.

"I was going past St. Paul AME Church on the Victoria Street side and I looked down on the ground and I saw pieces of plastic.

"I decided to pick up one and turn it over and I looked in the trash bin and found that these pieces (Corporation property) were just dug out, taken away and broken into pieces."

While praising non-managerial Corporation staff, he did not hold back criticism on its Secretary Kelly Miller, who he believes should resign.

"Those guys are busy in their own different ways, there's no one there now like in the old days when Roger Sherratt was around; he would get involved.

"I put an emergency call in to Kelly Miller and she has not returned my call as of yet. People like Roger Sherratt, they were active in their jobs."

Mr. Spanswick said he's had numerous discussions with Police about stepping up patrols in the city to combat crime and vandals, so far with little result.

He told this paper he was due to have a final meeting with Police and if nothing was done about his concerns, he plans to take his complaint to the Commissioner then to Government House if necessary.

"I've been to Government House many times before," he added. "And I get letters back from them saying that they're going to do this and that but it never happens."

He pointed out he had numerous meetings with former Governor Sir John Vereker with no success.

When contacted, Mrs. Miller told The Royal Gazette: "Vandalism is a Police matter not a Corporation matter, it's an offence under the law.

"The staff do a good job to combat littering. I listen to (Mr. Spanswick) every time he calls me and if it fits, I will send out staff to investigate."

Additionally, Mr. Spanswick took issue with the Corporation's decision to start clamping illegally parked cars and presented an alternative solution which he feels was overlooked.

"Why would you hire a firm to clamp cars when you can increase the fine and make the Corporation more money?" he questions. "It's a waste of time because they're losing money.

"You've got to pay the Corporation as well as Safeguard Security to do the job, so why not come up with a fine? I ran for Mayor of Hamilton twice – just to get into the system, not to be the Mayor.

"It worked because it got me into where I needed to get all of the information from everybody, this is how I know about the Corporation.

"In my platform for Mayor, I was going to fine people $250 for illegal parking – I bet you'll pay your ticket then.

"We are lacking in all of these things; take the tinting of car windows, I see hundreds of cars around here with black tints... these are all things that are disgraceful to the country because we're not upholding these laws."