The postponement of plans to redevelop Hamilton's waterfront has drawn mixed reactions, with former councillor Graeme Outerbridge blaming City Hall for its own financial woes.

Mr. Outerbridge called the City's shortfall in revenues "a direct consequence of their political strategy". He said that its more experienced members were shunted to the side and the lack of proficiency is now showing.

"It's not just a fall in revenue. Oversight on capital projects has had a direct bearing on the City's financial situation. If they're running as a team, they have to take collective responsibility," Mr. Outerbridge said.

Former Premier Sir John Swan, one of the waterfront scheme's most vocal supporters, called its shelving unfortunate but said: "I guess it's just a financial decision. If the corporation don't have the money, they can't go ahead with it, so the decision to cancel makes logical sense. But a lot of people are going to be very disappointed. It'll affect the Country in the long-term. My hope is that Government will work with the corporation to resolve their differences."

According to Hamilton Mayor Charles Gosling, the City preferred to "lose a year and gain consensus" than proceed with a scaled-down version of the waterfront proposal.

Mr. Gosling said accusations of overspending were mistaken, and that the City's biggest current project — the construction of a new work operations depot for City employees — has not only kept to its budget, but stands to come in slightly under.

"That project was originally budgeted at $11 million and it's now expected to come in under budget. It's probably going to be delayed a month or so — we expect it to be finished by January.

"We have particularly good oversight on that. It's been left completely to the technical officers of the corporation, with no interference at all from elected members."

The City's current debt limit is $20 million, Mr. Gosling said. Borrowing $11 million for the depot left too little to start on the waterfront. He said that the possibility of the City losing millions in funds as a result of Government's Municipalities Reform Act made developing Hamilton's waterfront "very ill-advised".

"With the uncertainty of our revenue stream for next year, it would be extremely poor business for us to engage in further loans," he said.

The next step would be to negotiate amendments to the Municipalities Act for the City to have a higher debt ceiling and partner with Government, he said. "We're not going to be dead for a year. The budget will be debated over the next eight weeks or so, and we will announce other projects more in keeping with the depth of our pockets."

The multimillion, multiyear proposal to revamp Hamilton's harbourside has undergone several incarnations. In 2006 it was a $629 million project which dropped to a quarter of its former budget in June of this year. Reflecting on the latest news, Bermuda Chamber of Commerce president Stephen Todd said: "To be honest, we're disappointed but not surprised."

Mr. Todd said the Chamber viewed the postponement as a sound decision. "We don't think the waterfront plan is viable at this time. I believe the plans themselves go back at least two administrations and each time it's been reviewed it has been subject to further reductions to make it more cost efficient. It's a significant expense, and the big question at the time was how it was going to be funded.

"It obviously would have stimulated the economy, creating jobs in construction and opportunities for retail and commerce to participate in an expanded waterfront environment. Ideally, it will go ahead in the future. But we're all very uncertain in terms of what the future holds for the economy."