MINUTES - Special Council - 19970526TOWN OF AURORA
SPECIAL COUNCIL
MEETING NO. 19-97
Holland Room East
Aurora Town Hall
Monday, May 26, 1997
7:30p.m.
II MINUTES II
ATTENDANCE
COUNCIL MEMBERS
STAFF MEMBERS
Mayor Jones in the Chair; Councillors Griffith, Healy,
Morris, Ochalski, Sorley, and Weller.
Councillors McKenzie and Wallace were absent due
to previous commitments.
Chief Administrative Officer, Director of Corporate
Services, Fire Chief, and Council/Committee
Secretary.
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
#341. Moved by Councillor Griffith Seconded by Councillor .Sorley
THAT the content of the Agenda be approved as outlined herein.
CARRIED
STAFF REPORTS
Fl97-008-155 re: Regional Fire and Emergency Service
Mayor Jones thanked Fire Chief Hunwicks for his contributions to the York Region Fire
Services Review and advised Council of the Region's request for feedback from the
affected Municipalities by May 30, 1997 regarding the Final Report. The Fire Chief
expressed his gratitude to the Mayor, Chief Administrative Officer, and Director of
Corporate Services for their support and encouragement in this endeavour as well as
his Secretary for the assistance she provided. He stated that the overall process was
very worthwhile but that there are many challenges still to overcome in this regard.
The Fire Chief provided Council with an overview of the proposed merger as set out
in Report Fl97-008-155 and the York Region Fire Services Review Report. He stated
that the process was well organized and included the involvement of over 1 50 people
over a 25 month period. A plan was developed to address both the short term and
long term needs so that York Region could better cope with the massive growth it is
expected to experience during the next 25 years. He explained that end results of the
Review were consistent with other past reviews which suggested that Fire
Aurora Special Council Minutes No. 19-97
Monday, May 26, 1997
Page 2
Departments that are operated in a more collective and cohesive manner would not
only save money but could also increase and improve upon service delivery. The
establishment of a Fire and Emergency Services Board was chosen by the Consultant
as the best governance model option to oversee a new Fire and Emergency Service
Agency. He advised that from a Staff perspective it was recommended that the
urban/rural model as the best and most practical option that would achieve
improvements. Chief Hunwicks stated that the financial impacts of the proposed
merger run on the principles of spend a little more now and save later including cost
avoidance results over a 25. year plan which proposes to save up to $96 million dollars
regionally. During the Review, the Consultants made their staffing level projections
and predictions of savings based on increasing the level of service from the current
level to a benchmark level. The Fire Chief indicated the enormous redundancy
throughout the municipalities and that pay scales, negotiated benefits, and working
conditions among the paid firefighters were very similar throughout the Region. He
suggested that some of Aurora's benefits resulting from participation in a merger
include the rise in immediately available on-duty response units and personnel, vehicle
maintenance, the fact that Aurora would sit directly in the centre of a response district
for initial back-up response service, Staff development opportunities would rise due to
the ability for Staff to move to other locations and/or perform other tasks instead of
allowing for professional stagnation, increased quality of programming including
prevention, improved administration, potential savings through standardized
purchasing, and two-way radio and dispatch communication services would drastically
improve while costs would substantially fall. The Fire Chief concluded that equitable
treatment, maintaining the procedural obligations of the existing agreements, and
making every effort to attempt to negotiate resolutions with affected Staff were the
essential principles in proceeding with a merger.
The Fire Chief also explained that a Mutual Aid Agreement between municipalities calls
for the municipality to use its own resources first followed by paging the volunteer
brigade which includes off-duty full-time and part-time members and then request
assistance from the aid. In the case of Automatic Aid Agreements that produce an
automatic response from the other municipality, a service is provided for which a
transfer of funds is required. He pointed out that the total costs of transferring funds
in this manner was more than the total merger costs with less benefits. The matter
of incorporating ambulance service into the Fire Departments would require formal
approvals from the Ministry of Health, Hospital Associations, and Municipal Councils.
The Chief Administrative Officer stated that there is a potential gain to A!Jrora to
achieve a better level of service including training and prevention for basically the same
amount of money. He advised that he had received input from area Chief
Administrative Officers who agreed that the merger could potentially be financially
negotiated but that governance issues pose a serious concern in this regard. Mayor
Jones thanked the Fire Chief for his presentation.
In response to questions of Council Members, the Fire Chief explained that the Staff
recommendation provides Staff with the direction to begin to pursue discussions
towards exploring a potential Aurora and Newmarket Fire Services merger. He stated
that cost increase is attributed to the present expenditures for the level of service
provided and Aurora's high gross assessment value. He suggested that the time frame
for the merger of the 5 urban municip~lities may be one to three years for discussions
followed by two years of transition. He noted that if the merger is approved
significant operating changes and union approved personnel changes would be required
to cope with future population and development growth. He explained that
consideration had been given to revenue generation and public or private partnerships
possibly with community colleges. He stated the great need for a training facility
possibly obtained through a cooperative approach or Provincial funding and that York
Region would be an ideal location for such a facility within the Province. He advised
that input was welcomed at all times during the Review process, Committees were
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Aurora Special Council Minutes No. 19-97
Monday, May 26, 1997
Page 3
made accessible, and written and verbal submissions were accepted. Chief Hunwicks
assured Council that any additional information regarding the merger would be passed
on as it is received. The Fire Chief concluded that the Staff recommendation supports
the option to deal with a fire and ambulance merger separately and directs Staff to
pursue discussions for an incremental implementation of the merger.
#342. Moved by Councillor Sorley Seconded by Councillor Weller
THAT Council endorse in principle the York Region Fire Services Review
recommendation for the implementation of the Urban/Rural Organizational
Model as outlined in the Administrative/Organizational/Financial Review
of Fire and Emergency Services Final Report dated April, 1 997 subject to
Council's satisfaction regarding successful discussions among the Fire
Chiefs and Chief Administrative Officers regarding suitable financial,
labour relations, and governance arrangements;
YORK REGION FIRE COMMUNICATIONS AND DISPATCH MERGER
THAT Council direct Staff to formally begin discussions with the nine
local municipalities in York Region and the Regional Municipality of York
for the development of a merger implementation plan, which must be
approved by all Councils prior to the immediate establishment of a York
Region fire and emergency service communications and dispatch system
and service;
AURORA/NEWMARKET AMBULANCE SERVICE AND FIRE
DEPARTMENT MERGER
THAT Council direct Staff to pursue discussions with the Town of
Newmarket and the York County Hospital Board for the development of
an initial first step merger implementation plan subject to successful
discussions among the Ambulance Manager, and/or Fire Chiefs and Chief
Administrative Officers, and presentation to both Councils and the .
Hospital Board for their consideration and approval, prior to the
establishment of an Aurora/Newmarket fire and ambulance emergency
service agency; and ·
FIVE URBAN FIRE DEPARTMENTS MERGER
THAT Council direct Staff to formally begin discussions ·with the Town
of Markham, City of Vaughan, Town of Richmond Hill, and the Town of
Newmarket for the development of a merger implementation plan, which
must be approved by all Councils prior to the establishment of a newly
merged urban fire and emergency service agency.
CARRIED
ADJOURNMENT
#343. Moved by Councillor Weller
THAT the meeting be adjourned at 9:22p.m.
CARRIED
~ t2fi
T.J0~3AYOR L. ALLISON, MUNICIPAL CLERK