Officials here are concerned a fire department cost analysis presented in Centre Wellington has provided an inaccurate picture of fire fighting costs in Minto.
The report presented by Centre Wellington Fire Chief Brad Patton to Centre Wellington council on Jan. 20 outlined the cost per person for fire services in Wellington County municipalities.
In the analysis, which was reported on in the Jan. 24 issue of the Advertiser, Minto was shown with a population of 6,262, a budgeted cost of $871,061 for fire fighting, and a cost per person of $139.
At the Feb. 3 Minto council meeting, CAO Bill White noted a Municipal Performance Measures Program 2011 summary shows a population for Minto of 9,188.
“Applying the correct population, the cost per person would be $94.80. The population quoted in the (Centre Wellington) report is not accurate,” said White, adding Minto’s budget figures include a reserve contribution that enables the municipality to fund a 25-year truck replacement plan.
Minto Fire Chief Chris Harrow said such reserves are “unique” and inclusion would skew any comparison between departments.
“It’s very hard the way everybody does different budgeting … to figure out what the exact number is and compare apples to apples in the different municipalities,” said Harrow.
At $94.80 Minto’s cost per person would have been lower than the figure provided for Puslinch ($125) and closer to Erin, which had the fifth highest cost at $84.74. The report indicated Centre Wellington offered the lowest cost per person at $53.68.
“One of the problems with presenting information in this fashion is that it is impossible to give context to the numbers,” said White.
“The Provincial Performance Measurement Program for municipalities is not to be used as a means to compare performance. There is enough difference in how budgets are kept and reported that such comparison is rarely useful.”
Patton’s report noted Centre Wellington’s two stations employ four full-time staff and 53 volunteer firefighters, providing fire protection at a total annual cost of about $1.4 million. Minto’s three stations with one full-time staff member and 85 volunteer firefighters service their area for $871,000; however Centre Wellington’s higher population reduces the cost per person.
“We’re the largest fire department in the county due to amalgamation and we are the smallest tax base,” Harrow commented.
“Minto is proud of its fire department and the 85 volunteers that provide the service. The chief provides excellent leadership locally and through his provincial association,” stated White in his report.
Mayor George Bridge said, “I think we get a pretty good bang for our buck at under $100 per person for fire protection.”
Council received the CAO’s report as information.
