The Corporation of Hamilton has earmarked an additional $250,000 to host a controversial conference on the Island later this year.

The municipality has already agreed to pay the Atlanta-based Conference of Black Mayors (CBM) $100,000 to hold its annual convention here in October.

And documents obtained by The Royal Gazette show that City Hall is willing to spend a further $250,000 to cover a range of additional costs incurred once the conference gets underway.

The extra costs were not foreseen when the Corporation put together its budget for the year.

As a result the funding has come from virements — taking money already allocated to other projects and reassigning it to the conference kitty.

Last week The Royal Gazette printed unofficial reports that the cost of the conference had ballooned, although those reports were not confirmed by official sources.

But the document, titled ‘Virements for 2014’ shows that the cost of the conference will be $350,000.

The paperwork confirms that only $100,000 was budgeted for the conference, leaving a “variance” of $250,000. And under a column titled ‘Suggested virement cost centre’ three areas where the shortfall can be found are listed.

According to City Hall accountants, it is proposed that $120,000 be taken out of the Communication Consultants budget, $85,000 from the Property Contractors/Maintenance budget and a further $45,000 from the Consultants Members Expense account.

The Conference of Black Mayors was set up last year as an offshoot of the National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM), which is now bankrupt owing around $2 million to more than 100 creditors.

CBM founder Vanessa Williams was previously fired as Executive Director of the NCBM.

An audit of the cash-strapped organisation revealed that she spent more than $620,000 of NCBM funds on personal expenses.

The bankruptcy trust now handling the NCBM’s affairs has said that it could seize any assets held by the CBM — including any grants given by the Corporation — to pay off the NCBM’s debts.

Asked about that development yesterday, Hamilton Mayor Graeme Outerbridge declined to comment while Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy — who has authorised all payments and virements — did not respond to requests for comment.

But Mr Outerbridge did say that the additional $250,000 will not be given directly to the CBM or its founder, but instead has been set aside to cover conference expenses such as transportation for delegates and an opening reception for an estimated 600 guests.

And he said the funds have only been set aside as a backup. The Corporation is hoping that corporate sponsors will stump up the bill for many of the costs through donations.

At a press conference last month, Minister Fahy said: “The Corporation of Hamilton has requested a further sum of money to be given to assist in bookings and reserving places for the conference.

“What we have agreed is that we will ensure virements are provided for the minimum sums that are required.

“The Corporation is only exposed to some monies, it’s not a huge amount. Sums will be sponsored as much as possible.

“You can’t organise something and seek sponsorship if there’s no one prepared to say ‘we will endorse it at least to this point’.”