The County of Stettler and the Town of Stettler have agreed to support a joint Regional Fire Department.
The two groups were in fire mediation discussions in order to find a framework that was beneficial to each party.
The County will begin making preparations to recruit a new County Fire Chief, with the Town maintaining a Town Fire Chief. Together, the Town and County will employ a new Manager of Regional Fire Services who will supervise, coordinate and support the Town and County Fire Chiefs, and make recommendations to each municipality’s CAOs.
“We are very happy to have reached resolution for our fire service agreement and we feel confident moving forward that both Town and County residents will continue to receive outstanding fire protection services,” said Larry Clarke, REEVE for the County of Stettler No. 6.
“We wish to thank our partners at the Town of Stettler for joining us in mediation discussions, ensuring we are both able to continue providing an excellent and efficient joint regional service to our region.”
Stettler Mayor Sean Nolls believes the agreement will be a huge help to the town and the region as a whole.
“We feel that this Memorandum of Understanding will modernize upon our previous agreement to account for the differences in rural and urban firefighting, and will safeguard our already exceptional fire services,” Nolls said.
“We look forward to continuing our working relationship with the County of Stettler as we proceed with this process.”
The two parties will now be negotiating a new long-form agreement that will outline how we develop levels of service, responsibilities of the Chiefs & Manager, plus establishing a modernized Fire Advisory Committee.
The County of Stettler and the Town of Stettler have enjoyed the benefits of the previous joint regional fire agreement since 2007.
