Mountain View County councillors have approved a new fire agreement with the Town of Sundre, the latest in a series of new agreements with area municipalities.
During the May 22 council meeting, councillors OK'd the fire protection agreement, which, among other things, addresses the unique back country rescue services offered by the Sundre department and cost recovery provision of services to adjacent municipalities.
Reeve Bruce Beattie called the agreement good news.
“We are very happy to have that in place,” said Beattie. “It was a good negotiation.”
Under the new agreement the county's portion of the bay rental will remain unchanged at $10,000 per year.
The agreement includes provision to set up and maintain the Sundre and District Fire Advisory Committee, fire response protocols, shared cost arrangements, revenue distribution, accounts and banking, and records and reporting processes.
Changes from the previous agreement include the following:
• The fire chief shall submit all required documents to the county and town, within 30 days of an incident involving the conducting or coordinating of fire investigations, required as a result of death, injury, measurable damage or loss of property.
• Highway calls will not be classified as rural or municipal (town).
• The Town of Sundre and Mountain View County agree to equally share training and response costs for back county rescue through the shared operating budget. Both municipalities will work cooperatively to explore cost recovery options from neighbouring municipalities that benefit from this service.
• Ten per cent of revenue generated from fire calls will be allocated to an operating reserve that will be capped at $50,000.
