During the height of federal COVID infrastructure spending in early 2021, the City of Hamilton received $32.7-million in special one-time funding for urgent infrastructure needs.
In July 2021, the last term’s City Council voted to declare the City’s most urgent infrastructure need was to give each of the 15 councillors $2-million each out of the fund to be used as ward discretionary funds. The funds were supposed to be used during the 2022 municipal election year.
Due to the challenges of rushing infrastructure projects, very few projects got underway in 2022.
Mostly, the funds went to neighbourhood sidewalks and repaving.
A listing of how councillors spent the slush funds is now public information.
| Ward | Total Budget | Spent to Date | Purchase Orders | Earmarked | Remaining Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ward 1 | $2,000,000 | $1,808,689 | $83,601 | $104,400 | $1 |
| Ward 2 | $2,000,000 | $151,120 | $1,721,171 | $0 | $97,416 |
| Ward 3 | $2,482,000* | $109,399 | $2,321,056 | $10,508 | $1 |
| Ward 4 | $2,000,000 | $840,138 | $618,866 | $520,935 | $1 |
| Ward 5 | $2,000,000 | $928,283 | $403,263 | $649,918 | $0 |
| Ward 6 | $2,000,000 | $975,951 | $295,948 | $710,000 | $396 |
| Ward 7 | $2,000,000 | $757,792 | $1,218,607 | $0 | $2,154 |
| Ward 8 | $2,000,000 | $34,584 | $1,965,000 | $0 | $416 |
| Ward 9 | $2,000,000 | $879,717 | $320,585 | $0 | $794,056 |
| Ward 10 | $2,000,000 | $1,183,178 | $326,915 | $460,000 | $16,058 |
| Ward 11 | $2,000,000 | $1,210,845 | $208,207 | $0 | $577,284 |
| Ward 12 | $2,000,000 | $775,798 | $327,150 | $0 | $891,295 |
| Ward 13 | $2,000,000 | $1,441,446 | $386,673 | $0 | $165,075 |
| Ward 14 | $2,000,000 | $1,131,109 | $471,995 | $381,000 | $884 |
| Ward 15 | $2,000,000 | $713,671 | $380,346 | $0 | $899,289 |
| TOTAL | $30,482,000 | $12,907,135 | $9,084,382 | $4,801,761 | $3,444,326 |
*Ward 3 shows additional $482,000 for Sherman Avenue 2-way conversion LRT works that was funded by Metrolinx.
Data as of February 4, 2025
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: June 11, 2025
Last updated: June 11, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version