Debate heated up once more on fire services in Greater Sudbury as council weighed in on options for fire service level adjustments on Feb. 23.
While no decision was reached on the evening as council voted against proceeding past the three-hour mark, it didn't preclude council from having some fiery debate on the matter.
Three options were on the table for council to debate, as follows:
- Reassign existing full-time staff from Main Station ladder truck
- Convert Station 16 to volunteer
- Close an existing full-time station and reassign the firefighters to Station 16 and other career stations
The three options didn't receive much attention on the evening, but discussion centred around an amendment from Ward 5 Coun. Robert Kirwan and Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre to add a fourth option to the mix.
Councillors Kirwan and Lapierre represent the Valley East area, the area that will be most directly affected by a service level adjustment as it is Station 16 in Val Therese that is the focal point of the changes
The proposed amendment looked to add a fourth option that would direct staff to add 10 career firefighters to the ranks to allow the Val Therese station to be staffed with four full-time firefighters on each shift.
The option also directed staff to prepare financial options regarding area rating, including potential amounts being phased in, for consideration during the adoption of the property tax policy which is decided shortly following the finalization of the budget.
Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier, who chairs the emergency services committee, was the first to weigh in on the resolution, before Kirwan had even tabled the motion, asking that the agenda item be deferred as there were still too many unknowns out there at this time.
"Far too many questions and scenarios remain unanswered. A report from a world-renowned expert consultant for all of our three divisions of emergency services location and delivery is forthcoming," said Montpellier.
"Our chief (Joseph) Nicholls committed to council a full-steam ahead volunteer recruitment, even the possibility of two recruitment campaigns."
Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti backed Montpellier's motion to defer, stating that the matter needs a closer look and that it would be prudent of council to wait until they receive the results of the OHR Ltd. report before making any decisions on service levels of fire services.
"We don't even know what the report's going to come back with and I realize it's related to fire halls and EMS services and ambulance services right across our city, but at the same token I'm sure it's going to speak to the number of staff that's going to be required as well," said Signoretti.
Council ultimately voted down Montpellier's motion to defer by a count of 8-5, with Montpellier, Signoretti, Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini, Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann and Mayor Brian Bigger voting in favour.
Following the defeat of Montpellier's deferral motion, Kirwan and Lapierre's amendment hit the table and stoked the flames of the debate as questions were raised around how this would impact taxes and who would be footing the bill.
If council agreed to hire 10 additional career firefighters, the cost of $1.4 million would be added to the 2021 budget.
"Are the residents of Valley East aware that their property taxes would be impacted?" said Signoretti. "To that question, Chief Nicholls alluded to area rating or gradually phasing that in — can you just clarify what that looks like for residents of Valley East to have 10 additional career firefighters at that station."
Director of Finance Ed Stankiewicz explained that it can't be determined how taxes will be affected until council passes its 2021 budget and property tax policy.
"The decision here is whether to add the $1.4 million to the 2021 budget. Area rating will be taken into account and different options during the property tax policy adoption," said Stankiewicz.
"Council may want to vary from the way area rating took place in the past and come up with a new formula or they may wish to phase this in over three or four years. Again, the decision tonight should be whether we want to add the $1.4 million to the budget and the tax policy issues will be dealt with in April."
Through his own number crunching, Kirwan indicated that he anticipates a tax increase of roughly $20 per year for Valley East residents, stating that it's far cheaper overall than other options being weighed and comes with less risk attached.
"The cost of the two options that are in the report now would result in a cost of $95 per household in the Valley for a $230,000 house, but that requires us to then respond to Sudbury a lot because Sudbury would have reduced one of their (fire) trucks," said Kirwan.
"The difference with this option is $20, to have 10 additional firefighters costed to the Valley, it's $20, $1.67 a month to have our own full-time fire truck without taking anything away from the city, and the city core's increase is $1.25 per year. It's going to cost the Valley more, but this is a better way of reducing the risk in the Valley and it's a difference of $20 a year."
Kirwan and Lapierre's amendment to add the fourth option was passed with all councillors save Montpellier, Vagnini, Signoretti and Leduc voting in favour.
Kirwan then asked to have the fourth option moved to the top of the list of options in order to have it voted on first as he felt that was the preferred option of council. However, Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini indicated that he wanted to have a fifth option added to the mix as well.
Vagnini's amendment looked to add an option that would redeploy career fire staff from the core to Station 16 in Val Therese and create a composite station of volunteer and career firefighters elsewhere in the city core.
Chief Nicholls expressed some unease with the councillor's proposed amendment, specifically the potential hiccups with collective agreements that are in place.
"Moving staff out is contemplated in option three, but bringing volunteers into the city core certainly would create some significant challenges in terms of collective agreements and scope clauses," said Nicholls.
General Manager of Corporate Services Kevin Fowke backed Nicholls' comments, indicating that he didn't think the proposed option would fly.
"There's an important article in the career (firefighters) agreement that speaks to except in the case of an emergency or to the extent of the current practice, that no work that's customarily performed by an employee covered by this agreement being a career firefighter shall be performed by effectively anyone else who is not an employee," said Fowke.
"I believe Coun. Vagnini is adding to option one that would see the movement of career resources from the core to Station 16 and then back filling with volunteers. Certainly council has received information about the legal risks that are involved in terms of this and I would anticipate that the position of the professional association would be that that was taking on work that was covered by their scope clause and so we'd very likely end up in a rights arbitration."
Council didn't get the chance to vote on Vagnini's proposed amendment and there was no decision on the resolution as a whole as council defeated the motion to proceed past the three-hour mark.
The matter will be brought back to the council table at a later date.
