Firefighter killed in training excercise near Sarnia part of tonight's debate

Posted February 11, 2013

If the final votes cast tonight to adopt New Tecumseth's 2013 budget end in the same results as the previous week in general government, than the average property tax bill for local purposes, will increase by $94.23 on a home with the average assessed value of $305,891, over last year, to raise more than $22.2 million in levies, up 6.38 per cent, to fund about $30 million in operating expenditures.

The overall bill also includes Simcoe County's portion which is estimated to increase an average of $9.31, while education taxes are projected to decrease by $17.20, leaving a bottom line increase of $86.42, or about $3,200.

However, the swing of one council vote on the question of hiring full-time firefighters starting in either June or July, could add an additional $22 to the tax hike, raising the local share to $116 more than in 2012. Last week councillors voted 5-4 to remove approximately $303k from the budget that would hire six full-time firefighters to work the day shift, Mon-Fri, 42 hours per week.

An alternative that lessened the number to four at a cost of $173,328, with a full impact of $346,656 in 2014, was also rejected, though it's expected to be put back on the table tonight for another vote.

As part of the additional information provided to council on tonight's agenda, is a newspaper article from March 7, 2012, which details the death of Gary Kendall, 51, a Point Edward (near Sarnia) volunteer firefighter, who died Jan. 30, 2010 during an ice-rescue training exercise on the shoreline of St. Clair River where it meets Lake Huron. The Village of Point Edward pled guilty, and fined $75,000 for failing to take precautions to protect a worker.

Chief Heydon's position has been, which was supported by a consultant's interim fire master plan report, that a "dangerous" situation is coming to a head this summer because alarms aren't being responded to quickly enough, and nor is there the "depth of response."

Those opposed to the full-time firefighters have argued increasing the number of volunteers through more aggressive recruitment, and added incentives, should be exhausted first.

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