In a no-notice emergency meeting on Tuesday morning, the City of Hamilton’s Committee of Adjustment changed their procedural rules to allow themselves to return to video conference meetings.
The meeting occurred despite the City Manager’s Office announcing there be no meetings at City Hall until March 27.
The procedural changes all the City to prohibit in-person delegations to the Committee of Adjustment.
No justification or explanation for the change has been provided by the City.
It appears the emergency changes are to allow for meetings to occur in the event the City can no longer hold meetings at City Hall.
With municipal public Wi-Fi down at all City facilities and Hamilton libraries, members of the public who do not have access to high-speed internet connections will have to submit their comments in writing or by phone.
The Committee of Adjustment plans to meet on Tuesday March 26. The meeting notices states it will occur in-person at City Hall.
The City of Hamilton has not declared an emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act despite exercising emergency powers following a cybersecurity breach and failure that became noticeable on February 25.
The City Council extended its two-week March Break recess to four weeks. Councillors will return on March 27, but only to deal with urgent, time-sensitive business. The council is hopeful about resuming regular meetings in April.
Members of the City Council are not responding to questions regarding any decisions being made regarding the cybersecurity incident.
Production Details v. 1.0.0 Published: March 12, 2024 Last edited: March 12, 2024 Author: Joey Coleman Edit Record v. 1.0.0 original version