There’s a spark between the Town of Innisfil and Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury fire departments - but do they want to get married?
That’s how Innisfil Chief Administrative Officer Oliver Jerschow summarized the proposed amalgamation of the municipal fire services to councillors during their meeting Wednesday night.
“The analogy I keep thinking of in my mind is a wedding between Innisfil and Bradford West Gwillimbury,” he said. “The real decision or direction we’re seeking from council tonight is, fundamentally, do you believe you might want to get married? Because if you do, we will continue this.”
Council heard from Mohamed Bhamani and Nanveet Vallat of Ernst & Young who were retained to prepare an assessment of fire consolidation with Bradford West Gwillimbury. While Wednesday might not have been the wedding day, staff needed to know if councillors wanted them to keep heading to the altar.
The process began in May 2020 when the towns appointed a joint fire chief. Chief Brent Thomas was then tasked with reviewing the two fire departments and exploring if sharing a fire service between municipalities would be more effective and efficient.
Ernst & Young was hired to do the heavy lifting on that report and study the feasibility of shared service. In the first phase of the study, they found gaps in service in both municipalities, with response times falling behind the provincial standard in some cases.
The report shared with council Wednesday, the culmination of the second phase, 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).
The report 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 services, 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. But consolidating the departments doesn’t mean the amount of money Innisfil would spend on fire protection would decrease.
“A consolidated fire department is expected to increase the net cost of service for Innisfil between $1.8 million to $4.8 million by 2030 in comparison to the current net cost of service,” the report from Ernst & Young stated. “Cumulatively over 10 years, this is less expensive than Option 1 and Option 2 by $2.5 million and $1.6 million respectively.”
The report used the current split in costs for funding South Simcoe Police – 54 per cent for Innisfil and 46 per cenr for Bradford West Gwillimbury – to determine how a consolidated fire department for the municipalities would be paid for.
The higher complement of firefighters in Innisfil and the need for wage harmonization between the fire departments would also lead to fewer savings being found by the northern municipality.
“These findings indicate that fire consolidation may lead to reduced cost of service for BWG, and marginally higher costs for Innisfil,” the report continued. “However, the higher costs for Innisfil may be outweighed by service level and operational improvements that would not be available in an independent fire department.”
The main difference between Option 3 and 4 is who would be the employer of the firefighters. Option 3 calls for one municipality to take that responsibility - a role Innisfil councillors seem comfortable with their municipality taking - while Option 4 would have the fire departments consolidate under an independent board of corporation. While similar to how South Simcoe Police Service operates, it would require amendments to both the Municipal Act and the Fire Prevention Act to come to fruition.
The report also looked at potential locations for new fire halls in the two municipalities, as well as additional information on governance and service agreements. Even if the exercise doesn’t conclude with the fire departments amalgamating, Thomas told councillors the report as prepared can act as a de facto fire master plan moving forward.
Councillors approved a resolution supporting receiving more information about Options 3 and 4 before deciding to support consolidation. However, there remained some apprehension about the potential marriage of the two fire departments, although, perhaps, no objections to stopping the wedding.
“There are not necessarily any cost savings in weddings, but we’ve already shown with South Simcoe Police there are cost savings to be had,” said Coun. Rob Nicol. “It’s a natural progression.”
“I’m still willing toward a wedding day, but boy, am I going to want a strong prenup,” added Mayor Lynn Dollin.
Bhaman and Vallat will join Thomas in making the same delegation to Bradford West Gwillimbury council at its Jan. 18 meeting.
