The Municipality of Chatham-Kent (CK) is a step closer to hiring several people to help look after water and wastewater services.
The CK Public Utilities Commission (PUC) held a special meeting on Thursday, during which the board unanimously approved filling 14 new positions. This will need to be approved again by the PUC at its next meeting on April 16 and by CK's council at its April 29 meeting before the hiring process can begin.
The potential wages for the positions range from just over $108,000 to roughly $290,000. In total, the 14 positions are expected to cost around $2.1 million.
This money would be funded through water and wastewater rates, which saw an average increase of nearly $5.50 a month in 2026.
Councilor Ryan Doyle, who sits on the PUC, said during Wednesday's meeting that he's usually opposed to additional spending but, in this case, supports the hires.
"I know the amount of projects we have coming down the line, and I know we're short-staffed in these departments. So, if we want to get these [projects] done, it makes sense," he explained.
A recent study found that the municipality needs to spend around $780 million on infrastructure needs in just Southwest Chatham. This is in addition to the $975 million already identified in the Water and Wastewater Master Plan.
Edward Soldo, the General Manager of Infrastructure & Engineering Services for the municipality, explained that the longer we wait to fill these positions, the more opportunities to receive provincial and federal funding pass.
"We're missing some of those opportunities because we don't have shovel-ready designs. This staff will be working on ensuring that we have projects fully designed so we can put in better applications for funding," he added.
Soldo was also asked whether it would be cheaper to hire consultants to review each project rather than the new hires. He said not only would this be more expensive, but no projects would get done, since someone still needs to manage the consultant.
