Innisfail town council gave administration the thumbs up to negotiate a contract with the City of Red Deer for fire dispatch services after it approved, in principle, a preliminary proposal for services.
The matter came before council on April 22 after the town's existing fire dispatch provider gave notice that services will be terminated soon because of a consolidation of EMS services by Alberta Health Services.
It means the town is out to find an alternative provider for fire dispatch services. Following an evaluation of three potential large service providers, administration determined that Red Deer was the best option. Red Deer Emergency Services provides fire dispatch services for 67 municipalities in southern Alberta and the region.
According to a preliminary estimate, Innisfail will pay Red Deer Emergency Services $1.97 per person based on a population of 7,992, plus the fees generated by 911 call answering ($0.37 per telephone line per month).
The fees generated by 911 call answering will be forwarded to Red Deer automatically through Telus, but the per-capita fees will cost the town $15,606 annually. That means administration will be looking for funds from the operating contingency for fire dispatch services in 2013 and for funding to be built into the 2014 budget.
“We simply don't have the budget to be able to do that,” Terry Welsh, director of community and protective services, told council.
The town's current fire dispatch services are provided out of Rocky Mountain House. Currently, the provider does not charge Innisfail more than the 911 fee collected from communication bills, he explained.
Welsh said he and the fire chief both inspected the dispatch facility in Red Deer, which he described as state-of-the-art.
“At this point in time we are comfortable with the $1.97 cost per capita. It is the same cost charged to the County of Red Deer and as well as the Town of Olds.”
Welsh said there is potential for additional costs of about $5,000 related to the acquisition of a radio channel, but that has yet to be determined.
Any other costs would come only with any specific requests over and above the basic level of service. But Welsh said basic service is more than adequate for Innisfail's needs.
