REPLAY: Hamilton police chief Glenn De Caire answers your questions during live webcast

Hamilton's controversial police budget has passedand chief Glenn De Caire says Hamiltonians are better off for the public waythe issuewas batted back and forth between police and city council.

"Public discourse about public safety is a big step forward," De Caire said during a live web chat at CBC Hamilton on Tuesday afternoon. You can watch the entire 40-minute interview in the player above.

Now that it has been passed, De Caire and council are looking ahead to see just how the divisive budget will be applied to everyday policing. And with some council members unhappy with how the budget debate transpired, they are looking ahead to how the divise debate will play outin the coming months.Coun. Terry Whitehead told CBC Hamilton that De Caire has been so "non-compromising" that things could be tense between the chief and city council for some time.

"We were trying to find ground to move on, but the chief wasn't prepared to," Whitehead said, adding that council still needs to make the attempt to smooth things over.

"I want to be flexible. I want to build that bridge," Whitehead said. "Having division is never a positive thing, and we have to do what we can to build that bridgebut it takes two to tango."

During the live chat, De Caire said he stands by his decision to abide by the force's obligation of service. "We don't bend for that, and we don't apologize for that," he said.

De Caire's annual performance review was also conducted at Monday night's Police Services Board meeting. When asked about his future contract, the chief would only say that "these discussions will take place with my employers, the police board."

"I don't work for city council," he said.

Whitehead says the "legacy costs" that will be grandfathered into subsequent budgetswill also bean issue moving forward. De Caire says the 15 hires outlined in the budget are necessary, and will have a direct impact on police presence. The new hires will add five frontline officers to the Mountain and east end stations, as well asfive new positionsto the investigative unit.Those new officers will cost $1.1 million heading into 2014, the chief says.

But Whitehead says those are just the "surface numbers," and they don't reflect things like rising contract obligations, performance pay, equipment and benefits.

"The plan is flawed," Whitehead said.

Here's a look at some of the topics De Caire touched on in the live interview::

On the way officers were assigned before the ACTION team: "Driving around looking for bad guys doesn't workand it's very expensive."

On the budget controversy: "The winners here are the people of Hamilton."

On not having control over the salaries and benefits of the force: "I don't even get a say in that processbut that's the process."

On cutting the number of new officers hires: "We were very hesitant. We know we need more police officers to maintain the level of service we have."

On the action team's presence downtown: "It has a real deterrence factor. People feel safe and know they're safe."

Timeline:

Finding a police budget that works for everyone involved has been an ongoing issue for the city since last year. Click on the timeline below for a look athow thebudget process got to this point.