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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2007-10-31, Page 13News -- The Huron Expositor • October 31, 2007 Page 13 Central Huron baffled by proposed fee schedule from Seaforth area fire board, sending counter offer Jennifer Hubbard alEMENEMED Seeing no savings in Huron East's proposed fee schedule, Central Huron council is sending a counter- offer to the Seaforth Fire Area. Representatives from the two municipalities met earlier this month to share the comments of both councils regard- ing a new fee-for-ser- vice agreement. Many members of the local council were baffled after viewing a draft of the agreement at the Oct. 25 Central Huron committee -of - the -whole meeting. Coun. Brian Barnim — Central Huron's rep- resentative on the Seaforth board — said based on the proposed costs; he didn't see the benefit of leaving the agreement pality gives up its voice on the board. Central Huron began looking into the possibility of leaving the Seaforth agreement during its bud- get deliberations last spring, after learning the department responded to only seven calls within Central Huron — three of which were mutual aid - in 17 months. The Seaforth board's 2007 budget — totalling $508,075 — showed a $36,732 levy (eight per cent) from Central Huron. Of the request- ed levy, $29,440 was allocated to capital spending. In addition to the levy, the Seaforth department issues truck charges — a $300 Central Huron flat rate for the first Coun. Pam Stanley hour and $200 per `If you come to a fire, we'll pay for it. You pay for your own damn firetruck and we'll pay for ours. Shouldn't it be black and white?'— hour for any additional -The proposed fee time — and wage schedule features annual operations charges for each call it and capital maintenance fees of responds to in Central Huron. $11,200 and $5,280, respectively, in Council officially decided to leave addition to a $400 per hour flat rate the agreement on Sept. 10. By with - for each fire department call -out. drawing Central Huron loses any Harding said he was unsure of equity in the assets of the depart - where the Seaforth board "was get- ment and its vote on the board. ting their numbers," and Central "What happens if we don't get this Huron fire chief Steve Cooke ques- settled?" Coun. Tim Collyer asked. tioned the proposed operational and If we don't agree to these fees, can call -out charges. we cover that area?" "Why are they charging us for the And while he was confident that trucks and firefighters going out the Central Huron department each time when we're already pay- could cover `the municipality's west- ing for operational?" Cooke asked. ern border in the same response In an interview on Monday, Huron time as Seaforth, Cooke said East fire chief Marty Bedard said Kinburn-area is slightly closer for the operations fee is similar to the the other department. operations levy that Central Huron However, Harding noted some was paying under the existing areas of the municipality currently Seaforth Fire Area agreement and covered by Seaforth are actually the call -out fee would cover fire- closer to the Central Huron depart - fighter wages. ment. "As far as capital, we basically "Okay, so there's a slight time dif- went back five or six years and ference both ways, our question is averaged out what Central Huron can we cover it safely?" Deputy had already been paying," he Reeve John Bezaire interjected. explained, noting Central Huron's We could do it if we had to, but I payment to the Seaforth board don't think we can cover it any more would be "fairly close" to past years efficiently than Seaforth. Seaforth under the proposed schedule. would be just a few minutes quicker "We've worked in some cost of liv- and in those situations, a few min- ing increases." utes can mean a lot," Cooke Coun. Pam Stanley questioned explained on Monday. the logic behind the capital fee. "The problem is you don't know "There's no common sense until it actually happens." involved here. If you come to a fire, Volunteer fire departments are we'll pay for it. You pay for your required to have 10 firefighters own damn firetruck and we'll pay respond to calls within 10 minutes, for ours. Shouldn't it be black and 90 per cent of the time. white?" she asked. Looking back to Central Huron's Reeve Bert Dykstra suggested experience with Bluewater while Central Huron's share of the capital creating a new fee for service agree - costs should go down, as the munici- ment with the Bayfield fire depart- ment, Harding said both municipal- ities issued a "letter of understand- ing" that services would continue on a pro -rated basis until an agree- ment was signed. However, he added both Central Huron and Huron East would prefer an agreement by the end of 2007. In 2005 and 2006, Central Huron's contribution to the Seaforth department was $10,509 and $10,747, respectively. As a member of the Central Huron Fire Area — representing nearly seven per cent — Huron East paid $13,480 into the local budget in 2006. A levy of $12,840 was request- ed this year. Starting in 2006 Central Huron stopped charging for fire calls. The department averaged the cost of calls over the past years and includ- ed the costs in its annual levy request. A look back at Blyth Looking back to Huron East's withdrawal from the Blyth and District Fire Area agreement, Coun. Alison Lobb suggested Central Huron "return the favour." "When they pulled out of Blyth just as we were buying a truck, they just said here's $4,000 a year... let's return the favour," she commented. "They got away with it. Why are they any better than we are?" Lobb suggested an "all-inclusive" annual levy of $9,000 and after some debate council agreed to a slightly higher levy of $10,000 based on averages from 2001 through 2006. "We'll give them $10,000 and they can split it up for operation and cap- ital however they want," Dykstra said. Harding said he'd forward coun- cil's proposal to Huron East for con- sideration as soon as possible. "We should take a look at the let- ter they sent to Blyth and send one back to them. I think they'll appre- ciate the irony," Lobb added. According to Blyth fire chief Paul Josling, Huron East decided to withdraw from the Blyth affd District Fire Area agreement four years ago, "because they felt they could cover the area better them- selves." In the separation agreement Huron East committed $4,000 a year until 2008 to the Blyth and District Fire Area, a figure that was negotiated between the two parties, he explained in an interview on Monday. See CENTRAL HURON, Page 24