It's no longer a question if city council will debate an LRT referendum, but when.

Chad Collins says he definitely intends to bring forward a motion calling on his fellow councillors to give voters a chance to say yes or no to the contentious $1 billion project.

The vocal LRT critic wants the question to appear on the Oct. 22, 2018, municipal election ballot in order to save spending $1 million on a standalone plebiscite.

"The easiest thing to do is let the community decide and there will be a clear message through the election process," said Collins.

If approved by council, Collins says the timing of the referendum will be perfect because it'll coincide with the provincial election cycle, forcing all three parties to clearly articulate alternative infrastructure plans for Hamilton if voters reject LRT.

"There will be no guessing at that point of time where the city stands," said Collins.

"If they want it, people will vote for it. If they don't want it, then clearly the message is that another investment is something this community not only wants but deserves."

Collins expects to bring the motion forward around spring 2017 in order to meet legislative requirements to get it on the 2018 ballot and before construction contracts go to tender.

Collins, who previously said LRT "screams" for a referendum, has yet to craft the motion or ask another councillor to second it, which is needed for it to be debated and voted on.

Nor does he know what kind of support it will get at council, which remains divided into pro-LRT, anti-LRT and mushy-middle camps.

But the east-end Ward 5 councillor is convinced most Hamiltonians don't support the provincially-funded project and deserve to have a direct say whether they want to go ahead with it given the city's pressing infrastructure repair needs for roads, bridges, sidewalks and pipes.

"I think the further you get away from the core and the centre of the city, the less support you see as you start to get into the suburbs and especially the rural areas."

Collins argues if LRT is rejected by referendum, the Ontario Liberals, Conservatives and New Democrats — who go to the polls in early October or possibly June, 2018 — can't politically afford to leave the city high and dry.

"None of them will say it's all or nothing. None of them."

Collins maintains its immaterial if the referendum is legally binding or not because one way or another it will send a clear signal to the newly-elected council and provincial government.

Sam Merulla, however, maintains that council will be playing with fire if it approves a referendum.

Merulla, who supports LRT as an economic development tool, maintains this term of council has already given its stamp of approval to the project by voting for the memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Metrolinx, which sets out the key terms. timelines and conditions of the project.

Merulla argues approving a referendum would break the terms of the agreement and leave the city in a legally precarious position.

"No where in that memorandum of agreement is there any mention of the city going into a referendum," said Merulla.

"At the end of the day, it's a legally binding agreement. If we turn our backs on it, we're no longer conducting ourselves in good faith."

Merulla says he's "working on confirming" his interpretation. Clearly that suggests he's seeking a formal legal opinion.

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The general issues committee endorsed the MOA Feb. 3 of this year. Collins was the only dissenting vote. Council ratified the agreement Feb. 10.

Because Merulla is convinced council's approval of the MOA already demonstrates its support for LRT, he plans to once again defer his motion calling on council to reaffirm its backing, which he intended to bring forward at council's Oct. 25 special LRT meeting.

That should be an interesting meeting.

Among other LRT updates earmarked for that date, Collins is hoping finance staff will be ready to present the report he requested on the new tax assessment dollars LRT is supposed to deliver. Not surprisingly, he's skeptical of the rosy economic uplifts previously predicted by consultants and LRT supporters.

Andrew Dreschel Andrew Dreschel is the city hall columnist for The Hamilton Spectator. Email | Twitter

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