The possibility of hiring 20 new full-time firefighters could throw water on the potential consolidation of the Bradford West Gwillimbury (BWG) and Innisfil fire departments.
Bradford West Gwillimbury councillors got their chance to review the fire consolidation assessment prepared by consultants from Ernst & Young on Tuesday night. Town of Innisfil councillors received the report at their Jan. 12 meeting.
The report is the culmination of the second phase of the study exploring a shared fire service between the municipalities and outlined four options for consideration, from reverting to two separate departments (Option 1) or keeping things as they stand today (Option 2), to some version of an amalgamated service (Options 3 and 4).
Since his appointment as joint fire chief for the Innisfil Fire and Rescue Service and Bradford West Gwillimbury Fire and Emergency Service, Brent Thomas has been tasked with reviewing the two departments and exploring if a shared service would be more effective and more efficient.
The report from Ernst & Young found that there have been some efficiencies found in the current set-up, with the two separate fire departments sharing one chief. There has been some resource sharing between the service, as well as some processes that have been streamlined under Thomas.
While there is money to be saved, the opportunity to further reduce costs while being able to improve service levels is no longer an option for the municipalities. In the first phase of the study, Ernst & Young found gaps in service in both municipalities, with response times falling behind the provincial standard in some cases.
Before consolidation, the consultants recommend Bradford West Gwillimbury take a significant step in addressing the gap.
“It is assumed that BWG would hire one additional full-time crew in 2022 in order to address the existing service level gaps identified as part of the Phase 1 Summary report,” the report stated. “This would ensure that full consolidation happens between two equally staffed departments (both towns would have two full-time crews each) and alleviate concerns about one municipality subsidizing the costs of increasing the staffing levels of the other one.”
Bringing on a full-time crew of 20 firefighters in 2022 did not sit well with anyone around the council table.
“Hiring 20 firefighters in that short (timeframe) is just asinine; we can’t afford it,” said Coun. Mark Contois.
Mayor Rob Keffer was more diplomatic.
“The one big stumbling block is the new contingent of firefighters in the timeframe that is spelt out here,” the mayor said. “I don’t think our municipality can handle that budget-wise.”
Coun. Raj Sandhu and Coun. Jonathan Scott also had concerns with the hiring recommendation in the report. Sandhu argued the report seemed more about hiring additional personnel than it was about merging the services, while Scott questioned why the report looked at the existing fire halls in silos if the goal was to consolidate departments.
Thomas was receptive to the criticism he heard around the council table but stressed the hiring of additional full-time firefighters is something the municipality is going to have to face down the road.
“Are we able to serve (the community) safely with the numbers we have? We’re not meeting the standards currently,” Thomas said, adding the local fire service is doing “a good job” with what they have. By not meeting the standards, the town is in a higher risk category, which is why the recommendation was made in the report to hire another full-time crew.
“I’m completely understanding that we have to be good stewards of the budget dollars and the finances that we’re entrusted to by our community,” Thomas continued. “But, at the same time, when we’re asked to provide that level of service and then follow that standard, it does come with that price tag.”
Deputy Mayor James Leduc hoped staff could investigate a compromise of sorts, where Bradford West Gwillimbury could assume financial responsibility for 10 of Innisfil’s firefighters so that the two municipalities are coming into the merger with equal staffing, as outlined in the Ernst & Young report without such an extreme burden on the town.
Despite the upfront spending required by Bradford West Gwillimbury – especially so, if the construction of a second fire hall is moved forward from its current proposed timeline – there are savings to be seen by consolidating the two fire services.
“A consolidated fire department is expected to increase the net cost of service for Bradford West Gwillimbury between $3.9 million and $6.4 million by 2030 in comparison to the current net cost of service,” the report stated. “This is less expensive than Option 1 and Option 2 by approximately $2.1 million and $1.2 million respectively (cumulatively over 10 years).”
The current split in costs for funding South Simcoe Police Service – 54 per cent for Innisfil and 46 per cent for Bradford West Gwillimbury – was used by the consultants to determine how the municipalities would pay for a consolidated fire department.
As Innisfil did the week before, Bradford West Gwillimbury council tasked staff with looking into the feasibility of Options 3 and 4.
The main difference between Options 3 and 4 is who would be the employer of the firefighters. Option 3 calls for one municipality to take that responsibility, while Option 4 would have the fire departments consolidate under an independent board of corporation. That would be a similar set-up to how South Simcoe Police Service operates, however, would require amendments to both the Municipal Act and the Fire Prevention Act.
Many around the table Tuesday night saw advantages to Option 4 initially, but Thomas indicated the same kind of governance body would exist under Option 3 as well but utilizing the staff from one municipality.
Both councils are expecting their respective staff reports on the issue to come back in the spring.
