Local residents will soon have their say on whether or not Halton Hills should ban personal fireworks.
In an 8-3 vote Monday evening, town council approved a motion that directs staff to hire a consultant, who will conduct a statistically-valid survey as soon as possible on the topic.
Mayor Ann Lawlor and Councillors Jane Fogal and Chantal Garneau voted against the resolution, which was brought forward by Councillor Joseph Racinsky and seconded by Councillor Ron Norris.
“This has been a controversial topic both in the community and on council,” said Racinsky.
“In light of that, I think it’s important to have additional data in the form of a statistically-valid survey as council considers this topic.”
He noted “this is not a referendum,” and the results will simply help councillors make their own informed decisions.
Norris echoed Racinsky’s sentiments and said while he’s not one for “random spending,” he feels this topic in particular is one where local residents are very much engaged.
“One thing we have learned is our community is not neutral on this issue, nor are they silent,” he noted.
Councillor Jason Brass said he thinks it’s dangerous to “govern by survey.”
“If we do this all the time we will never get anything done and it’s going to cost the Town a fortune,” he contended, expressing concerns about the potential cost of the undertaking at a time when the Town is trying to tighten its purse strings.
But, he said he would “reluctantly” support the motion if it means moving the issue forward and “hopefully getting to a place where fireworks are banned.”
Fogal said she can’t understand the desire to pay for a survey when the Town already has a free platform to gather public opinion - Let’s Talk Halton Hills.
Lawlor also spoke out against spending money for such an undertaking.
“I feel fairly confident any survey is going to provide very little enlightenment about how we may move forward because it essentially is a value decision,” she said.
“We’re not making a decision on whether playground equipment should be blue or pink. We’re making a decision about values for our community.”
During the last council discussion on fireworks, Town Communications Director Alex Fuller said she estimates the cost would be under $25,000 for the consultant to develop the survey, execute it and parse through the data.
Following the survey, Town staff will prepare a report that details the results and lays out the options for council to consider when making a decision on how to proceed.
