Community News

RESERVE FUND REPORT: $250,000 IN 10 NEWMAN RD. EXPENSES

BUILDING PERMIT RESERVE FUND EXPENDITURES FOR PURCHASE, SETTLEMENT AND CLEANUP

CRAIG CAMPBELL ccampbell@ hamiltonnews.com

The City of Hamilton spent up to $250,000 from a surplus building permit fees fund on expenses related to Dundas' 10 Newman Rd. This followed incorrect approval of a building permit for the Pleasant View property three years ago, according to the 2021 Reserve Fund Report to the audit, finance and administration committee Sept. 22.

The city improperly issued site plan approval and a building permit for a single family home on the 4.07hectare site in 2019, despite a minimum 10-hectare lot size required for such development by Hamilton's zoning bylaw and official plan, and the Niagara Escarpment Plan.

Meanwhile, the city's forestry and horticulture department continued a separate $40,500 reforestation project, funded from that department's own budget, with planting of at least 230 trees, and is scheduled to review the site to assess survival of plantings.

City spokesperson Antonella Giancarlo said expenditures of $250,000 listed as "Other" expenses allocated to 2021 in the Building Permit Revolving Fund summary represents an adjustment correcting an omission from last year's report.

"Details of 'Other' expenses in 2021 for $250,000 are confidential," Giancarlo said. "Finance staff have advised that the city's external auditors who audit our financial statements did not require that we revise our 2020 results," Giancarlo said. "The adjustment was processed in 2021."

Staff were directed by city council to draw all expenses related to 10 Newman Rd. from the building permit fees surplus fund. Council also directed that details of those expenditures remain confidential.

The expenditures were to include acquisition of the property, costs of any site cleanup after demolition of the partially built home on the site, and settlement with the landowner.

That direction, and

spending, was apparently completed by fall 2020, but the building permit fund's report in the 2020 reserve fund update, released last summer, reported no expenditures for the year.

City auditor Charles Brown determined 10 Newman Rd. expenses were not properly reported and asked city financial staff to correct the error.

"Finance staff have advised the $250,000 expenditure reported for 2021 is the confidential expenditure that was approved to be drawn from the fund in 2020 but was drawn from the fund in 2021 and not reported in the 2020 reserve report," Giancarlo said.

It's not clear why confidential expenses are not broken down in the building permit fund report, as city financial staff normally provide more detail on confidential spending.

According to the 2020 Reserve Fund Report, a confidential expense of $3.62 million and confidential settlement of $1.669 million were both drawn in 2019 from the Unallocated Capital Levy. A confidential West 5th land purchase of $356,725 was drawn from the Tax Stabilization Reserve in 2019. A confidential land acquisition expense of more than $2.695 million was drawn from the Investment Stabilization Reserve in 2019.

Endangered Cherry Birch was among 230 trees planted at 10 Newman Rd. in December 2021 as the start of a reforestation of the site.

City spokesperson Emily Trotta said the project involved tree planting in late 2021 and early 2022.

"The site was checked on in early 2022 prior to the new plantings going in," Trotta said. "This spring, after the remaining trees were installed and mulched, the site was reviewed again to ensure the work was complete."

She said staff have not completed a review of overall tree survival, but will do so this fall to determine success of the project.

"The total project cost was $40,500 for the trees, mulching and snow fencing," Trotta said.

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2022-09-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-09-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

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