(File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Service Costs

Buckland Fire Dept. seeks help from council, dealing with overdue bills

Jul 15, 2020 | 8:00 AM

Buckland Fire and Rescue is currently owed over $75,000 in unpaid bills.

The volunteer fire department, contracted by the Rural Municipality, works like a cooperative, and rate payers who sign on as members and pay an annual levy, have all their service costs covered in the event of a fire.

However Director Chris Shynkaruk told paNOW roughly 25 per cent of the total rate payers (300 to 400) have not signed on and so are responsible for their own costs in the event of a fire.

“They are required to pay $800 per hour per truck and that adds up quick. So we are seeing bills in that $20,000 to $40,000 per call,” he said.

The annual levy cost is $125 per residence. Shynkaruk explained it’s been around since the inception of the fire department in 1969, so he is not sure why there are so many people not signed on as members.

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Representatives from Buckland Fire and Rescue went to the RM’s council meeting on Monday, looking for advice how to not only collect the unpaid bills but also get more people signed on as members to help prevent large bills. Shynkaruk said the levy is important for the fire department to function.

“This levy money goes directly into the fire department for providing personal protective equipment (PPE), training for the fire fighters, equipment, it’s just an all around win win for the residents,” he said.

One option for council to consider is to put the unpaid bills on tax notices. Reeve Don Fyrk said council wants to double check with its lawyers what they can and cannot do, and the matter will be discussed again at next month’s meeting.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell