Should Hamilton hire 3 more people to combat bad air quality?

Most politicians at city hall agree that air quality is a priority for Hamilton, but not all of them agree that the city should hire three and a half more staff to analyze the data and tell them what to do about it.

Public Health recommends spending $167,600 in 2015 — and $335,310 each year after — to hire the full-time equivalent of 3.5 staff. Its recommendation is part of the 2015 budget, which city council expects to approve April 8.

The new hires would collect, analyze and communicate air quality data, and use it to create policy and advise the city in its decision making, said Robert Hall, director of the health protection division.

'All these people who have boots on the ground, and they can take a nickel and turn it into a quarter.'- Coun. Brenda Johson

The city has invested a lot into Hamilton's air quality, he said. This includes purchasing two mobile air-monitoring stations in the east end, establishing a particulate matter bylaw and developing an airshed model with local industry.

But no one is collecting that data and telling council how it should use it in its decision making, Hall said.

"We're doing well in the city as far as improvements to air quality in the last 20 to 30 years, but we're not getting to where we need to be as far as development of policy moving forward," he said.

Not everyone is sold on it. Coun. Brenda Johnson of Ward 11, a former Environment Hamilton employee, says the city might be farther ahead supporting agencies who already work with air quality. She cited the work of Denis Corr, a local scientist who does mobile air monitoring.

"There are places like Environment Hamilton and Green Venture, all these people who have boots on the ground, and they can take a nickel and turn it into a quarter," she said.

"If we should be investing in them, or Denis Corr's group, then let's do that. Why are we always adding layers? Things don't get done when you add layers."

Johnson said she's "not clear what those 3.5 positions are going to do."

What the new hires will do

Hall will present to councillors on March 24, a day when they'll vote to approve or deny various budget "enhancements" that include the new positions.

'Let's put this in perspective and get our heads out of our butts.'- Coun. Sam Merulla

Johnson said if her questions are answered to her satisfaction, "it's a no."

Hall foresees the positions as being as follows:

A senior project manager for air quality initiatives.
A project manager whose tasks would include working with contractors doing air monitoring and liaising with local environmental groups.
A planner who would work with the planning department to include air quality in city planning decisions.
A geographic information systems technician (the half position).

Coun. Aidan Johnson of Ward 1, who campaigned on making green decisions, voted in favour of moving the positions forward for a March 24 decision. But he worries that they might be veering into territory the Ministry of Environment is supposed to cover.

"There is a risk of the municipality exacerbating downloading by taking on hugely expensive, necessary environmental tasks that the provincial government, with its much larger treasury, should be doing," he said.

Similar to smoking bylaws

Hall said there is no overlap. He equates it to smoking.

For years, the province agreed with anti-smoking measures, he said, but "it wasn't until each municipality started doing their own smoking bylaws that the province said 'OK, everyone's serious. Let's do something provincially.'"

Coun. Sam Merulla of Ward 4 supported the positions. Nearly 200 people die in Hamilton each year as a result of poor air quality, he said. If that same number died from violent crime, he said, council would be throwing money at the police services budget.

"Let's put this in perspective and get our heads out of our butts," he said.

Lynda Lukasik, executive director of Environment Hamilton, says "if done carefully," the positions "fill a gap" not occupied by the province or local organizations.

"We don't have the power to enforce a bylaw," she said. "To me, if they're bringing people in who are going to help the city with enforcement on issues it has some authority over I think that's fantastic."

But in the budget process, the city has already axed two FTE positions, which would have cost $190,160 annually, to help the city adapt to climate change. So "I'm a little bit concerned," she said.

Taxes are going up

The city is facing a 3.4-per cent budget increase. That amounts to $105 on the average $284,600 home. Council is currently pondering another 0.4-per cent increase in enhancements, which would amount to about $120 on the average home.