Employee-related costs hit $985.3 million in 2024.
While the number of employees working for the city increases and taxpayers are paying more than ever in employee-related costs, the City of Hamilton is hiring for 44 positions.
In 2022, the number of employees working for the City of Hamilton was stated as “more than 8,000.”
Additionally, employee-related costs for the city were approximately $854.6 million in 2022, but have ballooned by about 15.3 per cent in just two years to $985.3 million for 2024.
The city’s job board shows multiple open positions, including six new open positions for Vacant Unit Tax Analyst to administer the city’s new Vacant Unit Tax Program.
Those positions will each pay about $75,000 to $93,600 depending on experience.
The costs associated with implementing the Vacant Unit Tax total $2.6 million, while annual operating expenses going forward will be $2.2 million a year, with a large portion of that being employee-related costs.
While the city expects $3.4 million to $4.3 million in revenue from the tax in the first year of its implementation, there are concerns that those numbers are overestimated and also that the program could eventually end up costing the city money.
The city is also hiring a Senior Planner for Development Planning, Project Manager of Asset Renewal, Senior Advisor of Government Relations and Community Engagement, Project Manager for Continuous Improvement, Senior Project Manager for the Encampment Response, and Senior Planning for Zoning Bylaw Reform.
Those positions have an even higher salary cap, with the Senior Advisor of Government Relations and Community Engagement potentially earning up to about $123,500.
The city gave raises to managers, planners, and other non-unionized workers in 2023, with some receiving up to 15 per cent more money.
That move came as the city struggled with labour shortages due to problems with staff recruitment and retention.
But rising salaries are not the only reason why taxpayers have been paying more for employee-related costs with the number of employees also increasing over the past two years due to various initiatives approved by Council, such as the new Climate Change Office and increasing ward office budgets.
Data from budget documents shows that, out of all the city’s departments, employee-related costs for “Non-Program Expenditures and Revenues” increased the most between 2022 and 2024, going from $10.2 million to $21.6 million.
That represents a 111.8 per cent increase in just two years.
Next, the city’s “Legislative Department” saw a 36.2 per cent increase in employee-related costs, going from $4.7 million in 2022 to $6.4 million.
Third, those costs for the “Planning and Economic Development Department” increased 28.5 per cent from $63.4 million to $81.5 million.
After that, the “Corporate Services Department” employee-related costs increased 29.3 per cent from $48.4 million to $62.6 million, the “Public Works Department” costs increased by 17.5 per cent from $198.5 million to $233.3 million, the “City Manager’s Office” costs increased by 15.9 per cent from $16.4 million to $19.0 million, and “Boards and Agencies,” which includes the Hamilton Police, costs increased by 13.8 per cent from $194.3 million to $221.2 million.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
