The Corporation of Hamilton has announced some long-anticipated steps towards modernisation and greater openness.

However a critic has dismissed the moves, which include a new website and some decisions being posted publicly, as ?pathetic?.

Currently, the Corporation meets behind closed doors, and is believed to be the only jurisdiction left in the Western hemisphere where this is the case. Its committees and responsibilities include finance, parks, streets and property and it owns buildings including City Hall, Hamilton Docks, the cruise ship passenger terminals and the ferry terminal.

Mayor Lawson Mapp was returned to office with a landslide 87 percent share of the vote in 2003 pledging to modernise the way the Corporation operates.

Under the Municipalities Act 1923, which governs the Corporation, members do not have the privileges barring them for being sued for libel which are enjoyed by House of Assembly members. This has long been cited as a reason why meetings cannot be held in public.

Mr. Mapp recently admitted that his plans to press for Parliament to update the 1923 Act have been overlooked in favour of other issues, but this week, he unveiled a number of initiatives which he said would be a step in the direction of greater openness.

?I would like to think that in the not-too-distant future we could have some of the less acrimonious resolutions posted on the board at City Hall,? he said, explaining that these would involve topics such as planning decisions.

?Sometime in January there will be a public meeting which will give constituents and stakeholders the opportunity to view the presentations on the waterfront development and ask the mayor and members of the Corporation about other matters such as the Bank of Bermuda?s building proposals. They will also be able to make suggestions about the improvement of the city.

?That would be the first step, as in this day and age people say: ?You answer to the constituents? and we have got to be transparent.?

Furthermore, said the mayor, a website will be launched at www.cityhall.bm in January which will outline the structure and work of the Corporation.

?People will be able to log on and get a whole host of information. That?s part of opening up the process,? said Mr. Mapp.

However, Graeme Outerbridge, who contested the last mayoral election also pledging to push for more openness and accountability was unimpressed.

?Not enough has been done. The meetings are still closed and to my knowledge there has not been one public meeting since the mayor was returned to office. We?re long overdue for action,? he said. ?The idea of information being posted on noticeboards is pathetic and although the website will be good for public relations and informing people it is not a participatory process.?

Mr. Outerbridge also called for the current voting system to be reformed. At the moment, business owners have one vote each while residential tenants and owners have one vote per household although joint owners of residential properties, such as husband and wives, can have one vote each.

?It should be one man one vote for people living within the city. The current system is unfairly biased towards people who own property without regard to the people living in Hamilton and their wishes,? he said.

?I would consider contesting the next election in spring 2006 if nothing changes although anyone running to be elected as mayor is a symbolic gesture as it is hardly a democratic process.?