A “war of attrition” exists between the Government and the City of Hamilton over plans to abolish the two corporations, according to Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the Minister of Public Works.

The minister was speaking on Friday as the House of Assembly passed legislation to limit term times for members of the corporations in the capital and the Town of St George to two years while a battle over their planned abolition is fought out in the Privy Council in London.

Pressed on whether people elected to the bodies in ballots slated for this May would serve the full two-year remit, Colonel Burch said that he did not expect a Privy Council decision this year or next year on the legal appeal brought by the City of Hamilton.

Referring to the continued legal action by the city, the minister told MPs: “This is obviously a war of attrition.”

Colonel Burch added: “The reality is that we are 21 square miles and we really have two governments.

“We have a municipality who runs the city and controls the main dock and imports into the country and you have a government that has to ask them for things.”

The Government previously cancelled corporation elections set to be held in 2022 and extended office holder terms by a year while the legal wrangles played out.

Craig Cannonier, One Bermuda Alliance Shadow Minister of Public Works, said it had been a mistake not to go ahead with the elections last year.

He said: “During a trying time fiscally, this is going to incur more cost.“

The legal dispute between the city and the Government was sparked by the House of Assembly’s approval of the Municipalities Amendment Act in 2019.

Under the amendments, ratepayers would lose the right to elect a city mayor and councillors.

The Government would instead appoint mayors and half the councillors, with the remaining councillors picked by the relevant minister on the recommendation of a selection committee.

The City of Hamilton argued that the change was unconstitutional as it would give the Government “overwhelming” control of the municipalities and their properties, which would amount to an unconstitutional deprivation of property.

However, in a decision released last March, the Court of Appeal found that there was no breach of the Constitution.

The City of Hamilton has launched the last-ditch appeal to the Privy Council to try to halt the change.