Hamilton council is in ‘lame-duck’ territory ahead of municipal election

With six members guaranteed to make political exits, Hamilton council is firmly in lame duck" territory.

This means the group of 16 can't make big spending, real estate or personnel decisions before the new council is sworn in.

That status under provincial law officially kicks in after the Aug. 19 deadline for candidates to register at city hall for this fall's municipal election.

The Municipal Act threshold for lame-duck status is met when it's certain that fewer than 75 per cent of council members are returning.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger and councillors Sam Merulla, Russ Powers, Brenda Johnson, Judi Partridge and Lloyd Ferguson aren't running again.

Mountain veteran Terry Whitehead has expressed an intention to seek re-election but hasn't registered.

Another scenario that triggers lame-duck status is if fewer than 75 per cent are voted back into office after the Oct. 24 election. The first meeting of the new council is Nov. 16.

The restrictions bar councils from removing or appointing any municipal officer, such as the clerk. They can't hire or fire city workers, either.

They face a spending cap of $50,000, which also applies to taking on debt and real estate transactions.

But there are exceptions, including expenditures and land deals that are included in the last budget, or in the event of emergencies.

In June, council - anticipating a lame-duck scenario - also expanded the city manager's delegated authority" to expenditures over the regular $250,000 cap.

That was to allow flexibility for eventualities, including shared funding applications with upper levels of government, blown capital project budgets amid inflation and supply-chain crunches, and costs linked to Ontario Land Tribunal hearings.

In the preamble to the 2018 election, there was no lame-duck period, with only four council members guaranteed not to return.

In 2014, however, there were five pending vacancies, meeting the threshold, but with the added twist of two councillors running for the mayor's chair.

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com