Due to the cybersecurity incident impacting the City of Hamilton since February 25, pre-authorized payment withdrawals for taxes were put on hold temporarily to ensure the security of financial information and the accuracy of billing.
I am pleased to advise that, thanks to the hard work of staff, we are now able to resume pre-authorized withdrawals for the majority of taxpayers enrolled in pre-authorized payment plans. However, we have made revisions to some of the scheduled PAP withdrawal dates to minimize financial impacts to affected property owners and provide time for property owners to adjust and plan for the upcoming withdrawals.
The City is resuming the automatic withdrawals for the majority of taxpayers on pre-authorized payments starting on April 15, with one group starting on April 30. The regular schedule will restart in June. The revised schedules for the five payment plans are as follows:
If you are enrolled in a 10-month (Feb-Nov) or 12-month (Jan-Dec) pre-authorized payment plan (PAPs withdrawn on the first day of the month):
March 1 deferred withdrawal will now be withdrawn on April 15
April 1 deferred withdrawal will now be withdrawn on May 1
May 1 withdrawal will now be withdrawn on May 15
June 1 and subsequent withdrawals will proceed as originally scheduled
If you are on the 12-month plan (PAPs withdrawn on 15th day of the month):
March 15 deferred withdrawal will now be withdrawn on April 15
April 15 withdrawal will now be withdrawn on May 1
May 15 and subsequent withdrawals will proceed as originally scheduled.
If you are on the Arrears plan (PAPs withdrawn on the last business day of the month):
February 29 deferred withdrawal will now be withdrawn on April 15
March 28 deferred withdrawal will now be withdrawn on May 1
April 30 withdrawal will now be withdrawn on May 15
May 31 and subsequent withdrawals will proceed as originally scheduled.
If you are on the Instalment plan (PAPs withdrawn on the instalment due dates):
February 29 deferred withdrawal will now be withdrawn on April 30
April 30 withdrawal will now be withdrawn on May 31
The remaining withdrawals will be identified on your 2024 Final Tax bill.
The City is in the process of notifying those affected, sending letters to the approximately 68,000 property owners who are on Property Tax PAP plans. Information is on the City website at hamilton.ca/cyberincident and will also be shared through other communications channels such as social media.
The City of Hamilton has been experiencing a cyber incident since Sunday, February 25, 2024, that has disabled some of our IT systems.
The following notice has been provided through the Emergency Operation Centre. Ward 9 will continue to post these updates.
The City has engaged with cyber security experts, insurers, legal counsel, and relevant authorities and has taken swift action to investigate, protect systems, and minimize the impact, which are key priorities as the City continues to contain the breach.
Presently, it is too early to identify what type of information has been accessed.
Critical services such as transit, water and wastewater treatment and emergency services are operational.
NOTE: The Customer Contact Centre is operational and able to take phone calls from residents, 905-546-2489 (CITY). As their team is on a reduced capacity, we ask for the public’s patience while the team triages phone calls.
Systems used for online payment are affected. Where possible, City staff are processing routine transactions manually and/or accepting cash.
As the investigation and response to this situation is ongoing, the City must be sensitive about what information is shared. The City will proactively provide updates as they become available.
Overview of City services and their status
Property Taxes:
Taxpayers should make payments at their financial institution (at their branch or through online banking) or by mail.
The City’s Municipal Service Centres are open, however with some service restrictions.
For taxpayers enrolled in the City’s pre-authorized payment plans, scheduled withdrawals may be delayed.
Lawyers requiring tax certificates for closings will need to plan to readjust after closing once the disruption has been resolved.
The following online tools for tax are offline:
eBilling Portal
Property Inquiry Tool
Tax.Hamilton.ca
Ontario Works and Special Supports:
Ontario Works offices, including the Special Supports program, remain open to the public.
Monthly payments will be issued.
Communications for both programs either through phone and/or MyBenefits are impacted.
In-person meetings are cancelled,
For assistance with funeral benefits, please visit the office in person at 1550 Upper James St, Unit 14A.
Accounts Payable Information for City Vendors:
Staff are currently unable to access the system to process Accounts Payable payments to vendors.
Vendors are requested to continue sending invoices to the City of Hamilton using your normal process.
Payment processing will resume after systems are restored.
Software applications and systems used at the Transfer Stations/Community Recycling Centers are not available. Cash is the only payment method accepted at this time.
The following online tools for waste and recycling are offline:
Replacement Green Bin or Blue Box Online Application
Bulk Pickup Request
Waste Special Consideration Request
Ordering Additional Trash Tags Request
Red Hill Family Centre:
The Red Hill Family Centre is fully operational aside from phone lines being down. Please contact the onsite Supervisor directly should you need assistance.
Child Care Fee Subsidy:
Offices are closed, though staff remain available to support clients.
Child Care Referrals:
Therapeutic referral for child care intake cannot receive faxed forms at this time. Please send therapeutic referrals by email to cctc@hamilton.ca.
Telephone Lines:
All City telephone lines except for the Customer Contact Centre 905-546-2489 (CITY) are currently down. People calling the Customer Contact Centre will experience extended wait times as capacity is limited.
HSR’s email and phone lines are not operational at this time.
Bus Operators will be driving without the aid of the computerized onboard schedule, so your understanding and patience is appreciated.
The bus stop annunciators are not operational at this time. Please ask your Bus Operator if you require assistance.
The myRide app for on demand transit in Waterdown is available for booking online.
DARTS service is operating normally. DARTS can be reached by phone at 905-539-1717.
PRESTO payments are not affected by this outage.
Hamilton Water:
The City’s water and wastewater systems are unaffected by cyber incident and there will be no disruption to those services. Customer service programs are impacted and delays should be expected.
Municipal Service Centres and Citizen Service Centre (City Hall):
Centres are open with service restrictions. Property tax payments can made via your financial institution.
Provincial Offences Administration Office:
Provincial Offences Office is open and courts are running as scheduled.
GIS Systems (City mapping):
All GIS systems are down which means the City’s mappings on the website, are unable to be viewed.
Includes access to:
Interactive Zoning Mapping
Find My Ward
Recreation/Senior Centres, Arenas, Golf Courses:
Are fully operational aside from phone lines being down. Should you need assistance, please visit a recreation facility directly. At this point, there are no anticipated impacts to Spring Program registration.
The Senior Centre Without Walls program is cancelled during the outage as it uses our phone system.
The pool at Kanétskare Recreation Centre is closed due the emergency phone line that is currently not operational. The facility is still open and there are no impacts to gym and land programs.
Long-term Care Homes:
Macassa and Wentworth lodges are unable to receive phone calls. Residents, families and all others are asked to please contact either:
All Committee meetings scheduled for the week of February 26 to March 1 have been cancelled due to ongoing system outage issues. Please note that there is no internet access in Council Chambers.
Online City Services:
Impacts to online payment processing for the following Online Services:
Fire Prevention Service Request (inspections, file search, education, etc)
Please note that the Case Management Conference identifies the parties, the participants, the issues, the startig date of the hearing, the duration of the hearing, any motions etc. If any resident wishes to be a participant or a party to the hearing they should review the above document and contact the OLT case co-ordinator. The Case Management Conference will be held virtually on March 26th at 10am.
Please see the link below for more information. A full overview of the Case Management Conference begins on page 12
Brad Clark Report 
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