"Cyber Recovery, LRT Damage Claims Dominate" - General Issues Committee - May 6, 2026

Hamilton City Council spent much of the meeting on the city’s recovery from the cyber attack, delays in financial reporting, and efforts to speed up development approvals. Councillors also heard a $1 million compensation claim tied to damage at 461 King Street East that the property owner said was caused by LRT drilling, and a Clean Air Hamilton update that raised questions about delayed data review and limited funding.

Topics Discussed

461 KING STREET EAST DISPUTE: Property owner Anthony Keelchce told council he is seeking “approximately $1 million” for direct costs, lost revenue and general damages after his building at 461 King St. E. was declared structurally unsafe. He said he received an order to comply on Jan. 20, 2025 under the Building Code Act after city-retained engineers concluded the building required immediate action. Keelchce said the order required him within seven days to retain an engineer, confirm the building’s structural independence, obtain permits and potentially cease occupancy, calling that timeline “extremely difficult to meet.” He also told council he had been told by city workers the issue “stemmed from the LRT drilling” and said he had filed a freedom-of-information request for 19 forensic reports. Council referred the delegation to staff for a report.

AIR QUALITY AND FUNDING: Clean Air Hamilton reported long-term improvement in some air quality indicators, but said localized concerns remain, especially near industrial and high-traffic areas. The committee chair told council that “continued monitoring is essential to understand neighborhood level exposure and protect vulnerable population[s].” Councillors pressed staff on why the committee is still working through older data. One councillor asked, “So, why the lag?” Dr. Javeed said the committee is still in the early stages of interpreting historical data and said faster progress will require “more resources” and “more funding.” She said the goal is to produce work that is meaningful for Hamilton by looking at transportation, industry, land-use planning and communities “rather than working in sort of silos.”

HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT APPROVALS: Staff updated council on process changes intended to speed up development approvals, including work through Bloomberg innovation programs and a new public-facing development application website. City Manager Marne Kucky said the city is “testing and advancing practical changes that are already helping to speed up timelines, improve communication, and make the process easier to navigate.” The planned website will include a map, search tools, application timelines, contact information, proposal descriptions and links to submitted planning documents. Councillor Brad Clark said applicants continue to complain that after filing required reports, “there’s a request for another report and there’s a request for another report and it just seems to drag on endlessly.” Staff said part of the problem is that municipalities and the development industry both contribute to delays, with one staff member saying “one third of the delays” are usually within the municipality.

FINANCIAL SYSTEM RECOVERY: Council also reviewed the city’s ongoing financial systems recovery after the cyber attack. Councillor Clark asked staff to confirm that NetSuite was implemented for finance “coming right out of the cyber attack” to rebuild financial records. Staff said the city is still working through major system changes, including future ERP and HR system work, and cautioned that some project estimates may change as scoping continues. Councillors also asked whether the city can better quantify the financial and operational benefits of the transition, including reduced paper use, staffing impacts and cost savings.

BUILD BACK BETTER PORTFOLIO: Council reviewed the broader “Build Back Better” portfolio, including technology and process modernization projects. Director Pat Leechman said he has “a high comfort level on the vast majority of the portfolio,” but said more work is needed on the long-term ERP project because scoping and discovery have not started. Councillor Cooper asked staff to translate time savings into “a unit of measure called dollars,” saying that would help show what the changes are actually saving applicants and the city. Staff said they are developing better ways to measure those benefits.

Motions

• Delegation regarding 461 King Street East referred to staff for a report (Passed)
• Subcommittee minutes Items 7.1-7.3 (Passed)
• Red Hill Valley Parkway inquiry management update Item 7.4 (Received)
• Build Back Better Project Portfolio Update Report CM250007B (Deferred)
• Bloomberg Harvard Innovation Track and Bloomberg Implementation Accelerator Program Updates PEED26072 (Received)
• Tax Policies and Area Rating request to amend bylaw 264 FCS 26-024A (Passed)
• Land Acquisition in Ward 10 PED242000A (Passed)
• Cyber Resilience Update - Q1 2026 CM260008 (Passed)
• Sport Training Facility Development Update HSC26038A (Passed)

Attendees

• Councillor Clark
• Councillor Wang
• Councillor Cooper
• Councillor Jackson
• Councillor Pauls
• Councillor Tadeson
• Councillor Tisdale
• Councillor Nann
• Councillor Kroetsch
• Councillor Wilson