Audit, Finance and Administration Committee Meeting

The Audit, Finance and Administration Committee heard presentations and questioned staff on Ontario Works overpayments and fraud recovery, procurement policy non-compliance, and the reporting and collection of Provincial Offences Act fines. Members also approved several local funding items, including Ferguson Station lighting, a Hamilton Farmers Market York Boulevard activation, a Stoney Creek community garden accessibility project, and a closed-session cybersecurity audit follow-up.

Topics Discussed

• ONTARIO WORKS OVERPAYMENTS AND FRAUD RECOVERY: A delegate raised concerns about Ontario Works overpayments and collections, citing $4.3 million in 2025 overpayments, $56.9 million in outstanding overpayments across 21,890 active and inactive cases, and $131.3 million in 2025 income support benefits for about 13,500 cases. The delegate argued the city should make fuller use of recovery tools. In response, staff noted the scale of the program and recent changes in provincial responsibilities. One delegate said, "The total operations budget for the the department is $28 million... in order to operate the Ontario Work program for the city, we spend 159 million $159.3 million." Councillors also heard that, as of November 2024, initial assessments and payment determinations shifted from the city to provincial staff.

• PROCUREMENT POLICY 19 NON-COMPLIANCE: Committee members reviewed procurement non-compliance reports showing 27 violations in 2024 and 26 in the first two quarters of 2025. Councillor Rob Cooper pointed to a previous overrun as an example of why members wanted tighter controls, saying, "We went way over our spending limit on Tiffany Barton... the signing authority was 100,000." He added that residents "got 23% tax increase and they see this stuff happening and they feel like we don't have the fiscal control that we should have as a city." Councillors asked staff to make future reports clearer about which Policy 19 cases were tied to emergencies and which were not.

• SPECIFIC PROCUREMENT CASES: Members discussed expedited procurement for AODA-compliant budget documents, a medical-grade glove purchase, and a $72,000 project manager contract tied to the Vacant Unit Tax program. Councillors asked for more detail on the AODA item. One councillor said, "There is something in Appendix G... AOD compliance review of budget books and departmental presentations... it doesn't really say what it is." Members also questioned how urgency is defined in procurement, with Brad Clark asking, "how is how does procurement office define what is urgent or an emergency?"

• PROVINCIAL OFFENCES ACT FINES AND WRITE-OFFS: Committee members questioned how the city reports outstanding fines and write-offs. Staff said the city has roughly $80 million in outstanding POA fines, a figure that includes pre-conviction amounts, active receivables, and defaulted fines. A director explained, "the 80 million includes those that are preconviction... active accounts receivable... and... in default." Staff said the proposed write-off included about $1.3 million in aged accounts receivable. Councillor Brad Clark said the reporting was unclear, stating, "It doesn't I'm completely clear what that $69 million means there." Councillor Mike Spadafora added, "we were given new powers of collection in 2024 that we have yet to use as a municipality on this file."

• LOCAL FUNDING ITEMS AND CLOSED-SESSION AUDIT: Committee approved $10,000 in city funding to match $15,000 in area-rating money for Ferguson Station lighting. It also approved the Hamilton Farmers Market Fall 2026 York Boulevard Activation, funded from Ward 2 area-rating funds. Councillor Cameron Kroetsch said, "We're finally moving the market outside as a full activation" and said the city would add "trees, shrubs, all kinds of greenery" to make York Boulevard "more alive." The committee also approved up to $650 for the Stoney Creek Community Garden Accessibility Project and adopted a closed-session cybersecurity follow-up audit update (AUD210004) after returning to open session.

Motions

• Item 9.1: Ferguson Station Lighting — Passed
• Item 9.2: Hamilton Farmers Market Fall 2026 York Boulevard Activation — Passed, 9-0
• Item 9.3: Stoney Creek Community Garden Accessibility Project — Passed
• Cybersecurity Follow-Up Audit Update (AUD210004) — Approved in closed session and formally adopted in open session
• Direction to improve future reporting on procurement violations by distinguishing emergency-related Policy 19 uses from other breaches — Adopted
• Direction to revise future reporting on POA fine collections and outstanding balances — Adopted

Attendees

• Brad Clark
• Rob Cooper
• Tammy Hwang
• Alex Wilson
• Cameron Kroetsch
• Esther Pauls