Hamilton councillors confused how Barton-Tiffany project went so over budget

We’re getting a bit of a clearer picture as to how the City of Hamilton got so far over budget at the Barton-Tiffany tiny shelter site.

Hamilton city councillors were shown a break-down of costs Wednesday, but some are still looking for more details.

The city was planning to spend around $2 million to construct the site and set up the shelters, but ended up paying an additional $5 million.

It’s a massive overrun for Hamilton’s tiny shelters, and councillors are still asking how this could have happened.

The 80 temporary shelter spots on the Barton-Tiffany lands were supposed to be set up for $2.8 million, but the city ended up with a bill of $7.9 million.

“We need to get down to the cause of why we spend the money we spend on the capital side,” said Mike Spadafora, the city councillor for Ward 14. “That’s, for lack of a better term, insanity.”

City staff presented a break-down of those capital costs at the General Issues Committee Wednesday afternoon.

The majority of the overrun came from additional construction costs.

The city says it spent more than $4.2 million on construction, when the original budget allotted for just $600,000.

“The wiring that was embedded within the units was determined to not meet our standards, so there was additional electrical,” said Cynthia Graham, the director of engineering services with the City of Hamilton.

“We had to purchase additional heaters for the units to meet the standards for Canadian winters,” said Hugh Leavens, a senior project manager with the City of Hamilton.

“At the end of the day, we spent $1 million on electrical wiring,” said Spadafora. “Like, a million dollars in electrical work is a massive number, and we’re talking about, what 40 units? A million dollars to rewire 40 units?”

The city also points to extensive environmental mitigation that needed to take place in order to prepare the site.

“This is the first time we’ve ever done something like this,” said Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath. “Have we learned a lot of lessons? Absolutely. Staff will be the first to admit that.”

Horwath said that while the project cost more, the city did its due diligence to make sure the units were of better quality than in other municipalities.

“Was this perfect? Absolutely not. Was it necessary? Absolutely,” said Horwath.

But some councillors are still not satisfied with the level of detail given in the report.

“If staff can’t list individual purchases in a public budget, that’s going to cause some issues with transparency,” said Matt Francis, the city councillor for Ward 5.

The city said its operating costs haven’t changed from the initial budget – they’re still projected at just over $4 million a year.

Council also approved using federal funding to cover that $5 million overage.

READ MORE: Hamilton Barton-Tiffany temporary shelter site reaches full capacity