The town and county are one step closer to having a fire services agreement.
Barrhead town councillors unanimously approved the 12-page agreement during their Sept. 11 meeting.
The agreement outlines the responsibilities of each municipality towards funding the jointly run Barrhead Regional Fire Services (BRFS) as well as service expectations. The document also denotes what pieces of equipment the municipalities own individually and jointly. Currently the BRFS is operating under an agreement that was signed in 2012.
In order for the document to become official the County of Barrhead also needs to approve it — something that is expected at its Sept. 19 council meeting. The agreement is for five years and is retroactive from Jan. 1, 2017.
The agreement is in addition to the BRFS policy document, which gives the fire department direction in carrying out the day-to-day operations. The town ratified BRFS policy document in April and the county approved it in June.
Coun. Don Smith said the agreement is one that both municipalities can be proud of.
“In the past we have had some issues with fire services. This agreement truly puts us at a 50/50 partnership moving forward,” he said.
Under the agreement, each municipality would be responsible for the purchase, including replacement, of any specialized piece of equipment primarily used in their municipality. For example the county owns a pumper tanker unit and a fire truck, while the town owns one fire truck. While the units are available to use in both municipalies, when it comes time to replace them each municipality will be responsible for the cost of its own equipment. The other seven firefighting vehicles are jointly owned and therefore the replacement costs will be shared equally.
Similarly each municipality would be responsible for the costs of responses occurring within their own borders, with the exception of numbered highways, which would be billed to Alberta Transportation.
Fixed costs, such as the salaries of the full-time firefighters (fire chief, deputy chief), training, and administration costs will be shared equally.
The agreement also outlines the makeup of the joint fire services committee. Each municipality will be represented by two councillors as well as one member at large.
The agreement also names the Town of Barrhead as the unit of authority of the BRFS and therefore is responsible for administering all of its financial aspects and supervising its daily operations as well as hiring all staff.
The agreement also includes a dispute resolution mechanism, the cost of which is shared equally.
Mayor Gerry St. Pierre noted the proposed agreement does not include the Emergency Response Centre, which is the building that houses the fire department.
“We are trying to consolidate everything into one all encompassing entity with the Barrhead [Regional] Fire Services, and the building,” he said, adding both councils expect to see that draft agreement within the next month.
Coun. Roy Ulmer asked Smith, if the county, in his opinion would ratify the agreement.
“Absolutely. When we had our [fire services committee] meeting last week the members from the county side made it known that they liked the agreement and will be asking their council to endorse it,” Smith said.
Coun. Ryan Warehime said he fully supports the agreement, adding it is a good example of how the two municipalities work together.
“There is a lot of money involved in an agreement like this and it’s a good example of how we can all work together to provide the residents of both communities a service. It is good to see,” he said.
Ulmer then asked if the BRFS planned to replace or buy any new equipment in the near future.
“We never know what chief [John] Whittaker is up to,” Smith joked. “But my understanding is there is nothing on the radar.”
