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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2012-04-19, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, April 19, 2012 Volume 28 No. 16 CAR CARE - Pg. 11Get on the road with thespring car care section BUDGET - Pg. 32 Central Huron delaysbudget until MayHEALTH- Pg. 6Influenza ‘B’ hitsHuron CountyPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK: Meeting cancellation disappoints Gowing Black takes medical leave from fire department Doing his duty Fire Department of North Huron Chief John Black, left, officially welcomed Rev. Gary Clark of the Blyth United Church, right, to the department as its chaplain during an induction ceremony on April 12 at the Belgrave Community Centre. Not long after pinning Clark’s badge to his chest, Black sat down and addressed the fire department as well as North Huron Council informing them that, due to an impending fight with cancer, he would be taking a medical leave of absence. (Denny Scott photo) Mayor Paul Gowing of Morris- Turnberry says he is very disappointed North Huron Township Council cancelled a meeting regarding fire service options on April 12. After Morris-Turnberry Council issued a list of possible options for North Huron in regards to a more co- operative fire service approach, North Huron Council had originally decided an in-camera meeting between the two councils would be best. The meeting was to be held on April 12 however North Huron Township Reeve Neil Vincent issued a press release two days prior to the meeting date stating the meeting had been cancelled as comments made by Gowing during a recent Huron County Council meeting led him to believe a meeting “would not be in anyone’s best interest.” The comments made by Gowing were two-fold and referred to a potential county-wide fire service as well as issues Gowing felt Morris- Turnberry had when negotiating with North Huron Council regarding service provided by the Fire Department of North Huron. “I brought up the idea for a county-wide fire service during the Councillors’ Issues part of the meeting,” Gowing said. “I thought we had a very good debate in regards to the issue and I think people are willing to gauge the interest of the proposition and have an informed discussion.” The idea is going to be researched by Emergency Services Chief David Lew according to Huron County Chief Administrative Officer Larry Adams. Gowing said at this point he hopes another meeting is suggested by North Huron but he said his council has tried to negotiate with North Huron several times but feels they haven’t amounted to much. “We’ve had no input in the current agreement and had no options to discuss it,” he said. “They were aware we weren’t happy with the fact we’re paying for capital costs but have no ownership.” The problem with having no ownership, according to Gowing, is if the North Huron department is discontinued there will be no money coming back to Morris-Turnberry reflecting the costs of new equipment and vehicles. He also said other agreements are based on assessments in the county and he would like that researched instead of the system North Huron is using which he claims is based on a “percentage of a percentage”. North Huron Reeve Neil Vincent, however, feels the township is subsidizing Morris-Turnberry, as well as other municipalities that buy service from them, since North Huron bore all the brunt of buying the old equipment when local fire boards collapsed by paying out to the contributing municipalities. “The original capital cost of the equipment was covered by North Huron and even now we’re paying for the fire halls ourselves, that’s not part of the costs paid by other municipalities,” Vincent explained. “We’re subsidizing the costs of our neighbours because that’s what the fire protection service is about; it’s about protecting ourselves and our neighbours.” The costs Gowing referred to were operating capital expenses whereas the original capital expenses and expenses not charged to those buying the service amount to $2.1 million according to Vincent. “Our neighbours just don’t understand what kind of commitment North Huron made to have a legally compliant fire service,” Vincent said. “We didn’t hesitate to throw more than $2.1 million into the original capital expenses and the fire halls. Other major repair and replacements aren’t Huron County Council approved its $34.2 million budget at April 11’s Committee of the Whole meeting with a one per cent increase to the tax levy. The vote to accept a one per cent increase with $185,000 going into the unforeseen circumstances portion of the budget was passed by a vote of nine votes for and seven votes against. The vote came after a motion to accept the budget with a 0.47 per cent increase was defeated with just four councillors voting for the budget and 12 voting against it. It was Bluewater’s Tyler Hessel who proposed the one per cent increase with the additional 0.53 per cent increase of just over $185,000 being placed in a reserve for unforeseen circumstances. The budget now sits at a total of $34,224,400 for 2012. As discussion surrounding the budget began on April 11, the hot topic was the wages being paid to some county employees. The question was asked about what percentage of the county budget goes to pay wages, which differs After welcoming the seven newest members of the Fire Department of North Huron (FDNH) Chief John Black sat down and addressed council, his fellow firefighters and their families at the Belgrave Community Centre on April 12, stating he would be stepping back from his position for a medical leave. Black, after having pinned the badges on five new firefighters, Chaplain Gary Clark and Fire Protection Officer Don Egan, said that in 2010 he had faced cancer and beat it. However, after battling a recent stomach flu, doctors found the cancer had returned. The chief of the Fire Department of North Huron then had to take a seat to explain his situation to the fire department. With some effort he explained it was too warm to stand before he said he would be taking a medical leave of absence to spend time with his family and fight the disease and that he had every intention of defeating it. Prior to his announcement Black said that he loved his fellow firefighters and that they were his third family. “Firefighters are part of three families: the family they’re born into, the one they are married into and the fire service,” he said. “We’re a family like any other, we have some disfunction, some weird cousins and crazy uncles, but we’re a family.” Black said that over his three years as chief the sense of family has become strong and all the changes that have been ushered in have been done so based on what is right for the firefighters. “Everything we’ve done has all been based on getting you home to your other families,” Black told the 40 assembled members of the FDNH. Taking Black’s place in the interim will be Deputy-Chief Keith Hodgkinson from the Wingham hall of the FDNH who will be named Acting Fire Chief. Deputy-Chief David Sparling will be focusing more on running the Emergency Services Training Centre (ESTC) in Blyth in Black’s absence. “I want you guys to keep the momentum going and keep this family safe,” Black said after announcing his replacements. “While John is receiving treatment, Hodgkinson and I will still be deputy-chiefs but we’ll also be acting chief and acting principal of the ESTC [respectively],” Sparling said. “We’ll still be doing what we have been and still responding to fires.” Sparling said the only change he knew of would be the non- responsive duties he has including training. “I may miss some things to be at the ESTC,” he said. Black’s prognosis was a shock to him and his family who found out only a week before he announced it By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued on page 22 County approves budget, increase By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued on page 22 By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 28