Media Watch – Financial Reporting & Accountability
The interview focuses on concerns about Hamilton’s delayed audited financial statements and the broader need for stronger financial accountability at City Hall.
By Mac Christie, from The Hamilton Spectator
Published September, 21, 2026
1. Are you concerned the City has not produced audited financial statements for 2024 and 2025 prior to the municipal election? If so, why?
Yes. I am very concerned that we are heading into an election without completed audited financial statements for 2024 or 2025.
We have a billion-dollar budget and have been making decisions without current actuals, no benchmarking, no peer data, or service-levels tied to tax dollars being spent.
Look at the 2026 budget. In September, residents were being told the projected tax increase could be as high as 8.9%. A month later after I got elected, the Mayor directed staff to prepare a budget targeting 4.25%.
When the numbers move that dramatically, taxpayers begin to wonder how real our financials really are and how spending connects to actual results.
Financial statements are basic financial management. Taxpayers should have transparency on their money and what they received for it.
2. The City has said the delay is due to the 2024 cyberattack. Should the City have been able to produce the audited statements pre-election? Or some type of interim statement?
Yes. The cyberattack occurred in February 2024 and was extremely disruptive. Now more than 2.5 years later, we still don’t have any in-period financial statements like income statements being produced. I don’t believe it adequately explains why taxpayers still cannot receive comprehensive interim financial statements while the audits remain outstanding.
If the City could not complete the audits, it should have produced interim reporting for 2025 and 2026 such as income statements, which have no limitations related to the cyber attack.
We continued collecting taxes, spending money and approving budgets. We should also have been reporting clearly on the City’s actual financial performance.
3. What would have been the value of having audited statements prior to the election? The City has suggested the statements are only part of the financial picture, noting variance and budget reports provide other clarity – does that fly with you?
No. Budgets, variance reports and audited financial statements each serve a different purpose.
A variance report based on no actuals, is simply meaningless, because what is it based on? It’s not even based on service levels.
We have a billion-dollar budget and have been making decisions without current actuals, no benchmarking, no peer data, or service-levels tied to tax dollars being spent.
My concern is that our financial reporting is not sufficiently connected to measurable service levels. It isn’t enough to tell taxpayers how much was spent. We should be able to show what services and outcomes they received for that money.
There are also real consequences to delayed reporting. The City reported that S&P lowered Hamilton’s credit rating from AAA to AA+ and cited the delays in completing audited financial statements following the cyberattack.
4. What is the value of monthly financial statements to taxpayers?
Transparency and accountability.
Hamilton is a multi-billion-dollar organization. What well-managed organization operates without timely financial statements, forecasts, and regular reporting against actual performance?
Monthly reporting would allow Council and taxpayers to see actual revenues and expenditures, identify and manage significant issues earlier and understand whether spending is delivering the service levels residents were promised.
Financial results and service results should be connected. If we’re spending more money, taxpayers should be able to see what they’re getting for it.
You can’t manage what you don’t measure.
5. Would you make changes at the City to implement these changes? Does the City's financial department need an overhaul?
We certainly cannot continue doing things the way we are doing them now.
Hamiltonians have experienced significant tax increases while continuing to raise concerns about deteriorating roads, homelessness and the speed and effectiveness of City services. Spending more money is not, by itself, evidence of better results.
It’s time for significant change in how the City manages and reports its finances.
As Mayor, I would require monthly financial reporting tied directly to budgets and measurable service levels. We would benchmark our performance against other municipalities, identify and manage issues early and ensure audited financial statements are completed on time.
I would also review the City’s financial systems, processes, organizational structure and accountability to determine what needs to change.
The objective isn’t simply to produce more reports. It is to create a culture where every tax dollar is connected to a measurable result and City Hall is accountable for delivering it.
Taxpayers deserve to know not only how much we’re spending, but what they’re getting for their money.
