In this article I will show how Hampstead’s mayor Jeremy Levi and councillors have abused your trust. For example:
- Over $175,000 spent on trips
- $900 per night room at the Dallas Omni hotel for Mayor Levi.
- 40.5% salary increase for councilors.
- $2,417.65 meal at one of Montreal’s most expensive Kosher restaurants.
- $1,679.47 for internet service on private vacation cruises in Europe.
On Jan. 9, 2024 the Commission municipale du Québec (CMQ) released a scathing report which made the front pages of the Montreal Gazette and La Presse. To quote the Gazette article:
- “A bombshell report by the Commission municipale du Québec has found that Hampstead’s director-general used taxpayer funds in the tens of thousands of dollars to pay for trips to Disney World, Las Vegas and Barcelona as well as to purchase a gym membership and booze at SAQ outlets, among other expenses.”
- What’s more, the report raised questions about an apparent lack of oversight and financial controls by the town administration.
- …the president of the CMQ concluded “reprehensible acts were committed against the town of Hampstead … namely contraventions of the law, abuse of public funds and a serious case of mismanagement.”
From the time the current council took over, the Director General, Richard Sun, charged over $265,000 to Hampstead credit cards. That is an average of $10,223 per month. This was an astonishing 53% increase over the average of the prior three years which was $6,653 per month.
Yet Mayor Jeremy Levi and the council expressed “full confidence in the town’s Director General and have no grounds to suspect foul play or improper conduct.”
Why was the council defending Richard Sun?
After allegations emerged about improper spending by Hampstead’s Director General, Richard Sun, and after Mayor Levi and the council issued a full-throated denial of any wrongdoing, I felt uneasy—was there more to the story. As Hampstead’s mayor for 16 years, and a taxpayer myself, I decided to audit the town’s documents and investigate how our tax dollars were being spent. What I found will shock you. The following is what I learned:
Fine Dining
Of course there were lunch meetings when I was Mayor. We ordered food from places like CSL BBQ or, if we went out, it was to nearby inexpensive restaurants like Yia Sou averaging $20-$30 per person. As soon as Mayor Levi took over, the extravagant meals began.
- The very next month, the council treated themselves to a $2,417.65 meal at Chops (one of Montreal’s most expensive Kosher restaurants). The average meal cost is over $100 per person.
- On Richard Sun’s credit card, there were charges of $2,012.30 at Restaurant Noraka for council and senior staff
- $748 at Rib and Reef
- $879 again at Restaurant Noraka
- $1,133.28 at Restaurant Imperial in Brossard.
A 40% Raise?
During the election campaign in 2021, no one ran on raising salaries but one of the very first acts of the new council was to raise all the councilors’ salaries by 40.5%. This was 3 years after the previous increase in January 2019. Total inflation over those three years was 5%, so the councilors’ increase was eight times the inflation rate.
Council’s Costly Travel Habits
During my 16 years as Mayor I set clear limits on travel: councillors could attend only one conference per year and, with rare exceptions, it had to be within Canada. Hotel stays were modest, typically between $150 and $250 per night.
Under Mayor Jeremy Levi, that restraint vanished. Not a single member of the new council attended a Canadian conference. Instead, they jetted off to places like Charlotte, Dallas, and Barcelona—with no apparent concern for cost or necessity. Elected officials attended events that were already covered by senior staff—raising serious questions whether their presence was needed at all.
Consider these examples:
- Mayor Levi spent $900 per night, which is $3,600 for four nights, at the Omni Hotel in Dallas—one of the city’s priciest—while attending the National Recreation and Park Association Conference in 2023. But two senior Recreation managers, whose job it is to oversee these programs, were already attending. Why did the mayor need to go too? Total cost to taxpayers: nearly $19,000.
Omni Dallas Hotel
- In 2022, Mayor Levi attended a Public Works conference in Charlotte, NC, alongside the Director of Operations and the Director General. With those two senior officials already representing Hampstead, was it necessary for the mayor to attend—especially at $600 a night? That trip cost taxpayers $15,670.56.
- Councillor Michael Goldwax attended the Smart City Expo in Barcelona in both 2022 and 2023, accompanied each time by the Director General and Director of IT. Those trips cost the town $20,000 and $18,000 respectively. If senior management was already gathering the necessary information, why was a councillor needed?
- Even more concerning, both of Councillor Goldwax’s trips were combined with personal vacation cruises. He charged the town $1,679.47 for internet access while at sea—plus:
- Over $900 for a hotel in Rome before the cruise
- $228.53 for a Rome transit pass
- $283 for seat selection for his wife
- Why did Councillor Goldwax go via Rome, Italy instead of directly to Barcelona, Spain?
- And it could have been worse: council had approved an additional international trip to Tel Aviv for Councillors Elfassy and Farber, which was cancelled only due to the war in Israel—preventing even more unnecessary spending.
Every one of these expenses went through council for review. Did no one question them? Did no one see anything wrong?
Hampstead staff take flight
The new Hampstead council was equally generous in paying for numerous trips to conferences for the town’s management staff. They went to Las Vegas four times, San Diego, Austin, and even Prague. These were in addition to the ones on which they accompanied the Mayor or Councilor Goldwax. The approximate cost of all these trips exceeded $175,000 over two years.
All of a sudden everything changed
Following publication of the damning CMQ report, it became obvious that council’s actions would now be closely scrutinized. Since then, not one resolution authorizing the Mayor or councilors to attend a conference has been passed. Since January 2024, there have been only 7 trips by staff (6 in Quebec and one to Banff). If the council believed that what they were doing was justified, then why did they stop? It is said that the best indication of a person’s character is what he does when no one is watching.
Are you shocked?
Hampstead is a small town where people know each other. Who would have thought that our councilors and Mayor would do the things I have uncovered? Are you comfortable with your taxpayer dollars being spent this way by the current council?
We need a Hampstead council that will work for us and not for themselves
What are YOU prepared to do?
- Volunteer to get honest ethical people elected?
- Consider running for council yourself?
- Help in other ways?
If you said YES to ANY of these questions, then sign up here for Concerned Citizens of Hampstead (CCH).
Please share this article with everyone you know including on social media.
In my next article you will find out how poorly the town has been run these past few years and what can be done to turn things around.
7 Comments
Our beloved town has really suffered since you left as mayor Bill. Look at the state of our roads, sidewalks, public lawns, flower beds and so much else. Everything is so automated that it is difficult to speak to anyone. Most cimmunication is done by computer only. Imagine even contemplating putting housing on the small green park at the corner of Northcote and Queen Mary!
It is totally inappropriate that the present mayor presents his own politics as representative of Hampstead. He is so unavailable unlike you who responded personally and often in person to any issues no matter how small.
It is totally disrespectful for him to treat our tax dollars as his personal piggy bank.
Thank you for illuminating us.
Thank you, Kim. Everything you say is true and my next article will deal with many of the points you mention and more. I expect to release the next article in a few days.
Meantime, click on the link to sign up as a concerned citizen. Unless enough people choose to get involved (even in a small way) nothing will change.
Why would you state that Mayor Levi is not reachable?
I question if you are referring here to your own attempt(s?) or if you know of others too?
I am sure that with one email to the Mayor, every resident would receive a reply.
In fact I just tested this very thought and sent Jeremy Levi an email at 17:35 and rcvd a reply at 17:39!
I had not emailed the mayor in 2 years. When sending complaints about miserable predawn daily construction noise and disruption to my life ( It is almost 5 years since the demo ) always a reply.
On this same note, I’ve seen Mayor Levi’s replies to Facebook and website posts, re: potholes and the likes.
Hampstead’s Council and Town Hall meetings (@Hampstead Park) are a great place to voice any concerns.
We live in a small suburb and everywhere is really just a short walk or drive any day of the week.
I agree that our fine past Mayor Bill Steinberg was very visual and always open to emails. It was comforting for many.
With greater resident awareness and election turn out, this is how changes can be effected if/when needed.
Our Mayor is often in the news and standing up for rights that represent those of our town and community.
I for one would not want to think that our town’s Mayor would turn a blind eye and ear to any matter of community concern. Would you?
The housing issue mentioned smelled to me as well and is hopefully now off the table thanks to the attention raised by Dr Bill Steinberg. The mention of any plan for a project involving lost valuable greenspace is scary.
Our next worry is the old Blue Bonnets site when it eventually is developed. Without MUC plans and provisions in place to manage the ever increasing traffic at the Jean Talon and Decarie area and the expressway exits, we’ll be victims to traffic if lacking alternative routes to/from Hampstead. It is a nightmare already, now imagine the future.
Various residents have had different experiences with the responsiveness of Mayor Levi. However, this article was not about that. It was about the outrageous and unnecessary spending of our tax dollars.
Hi. It is a good thing that they stopped abusing taxpayers’ money since 2024. But how to make them pay back the amount misused before? A different but related question: With my tax increased by about 7000 in the last 2-3 years, why hampstead roads are getting worse and worse. For instance, check out Ellerdale. It is a shame and disgrace to hampstedians as it is a major commuting corridor.
I am planning to attend the council meeting June 9 at 7pm in the Hampstead Community Centre. As long as the mayor doesn’t prevent me from raising all my issues, I will have a lot to say including about repayment of at least some of the inappropriately spent taxpayer dollars. I will also try to convince the council not to waste additional hundreds of thousands and more.
However, unless many readers show up to back me I will be ignored. Last meeting about 100 showed up and the terrible idea of building homes on Northcote Park was shot down. It only happened because people showed up.
Thank you for enlightening us regarding the lavish spending. We had no idea. Since you left the town has been neglected, roads and green spaces are not well maintained. In addition, it is very difficult to reach any one as everything is automated. The council members seem to be out of touch with the community. It just feels that way.
Thank you for bringing this to the forefront.
Bill Steinberg