Regional fire rejection

When Regional Chair Roger Anderson announced a study would soon be conducted on the possibility of amalgamating the region’s fire departments, it was only a matter of time before Oshawa came back with a no.

This week, the first shaking of the head came in when city council voted against taking part in that study.

The timing of the vote – when Anderson was in council chambers to deliver his annual address – was interesting, as the chair was able to clearly see how the city feels about the prospect of regional fire.

Amalgamating the region’s various fire departments into one was something Anderson campaigned on last fall when, for the first time, he ran for his position in an election, saying the uploading of services would save money.

Oshawa, however, wouldn’t reap the savings benefits and would be shelling out more in the long run.

Council made the right call – some would call it an easy one – by voting to not conduct a $75,000 study that will, in turn, lead to higher bills down the road.

However, this is the first and likely easiest step in the process.

When the matter makes its way back to regional headquarters in Whitby for debate, the seven councillors voted to represent Oshawa on a regional level need to speak up and have their voices heard. After all, a vote at the municipal level will mean absolutely nothing if those same councillors don’t make the results heard at the regional level because, after all, if this measure does go through and does end up costing more, it’s fair to say residents will be the ones footing the tab on their taxes.

Earlier this year, Councillor John Aker said that the idea of fire amalgamation never came up on the campaign trail this past fall, and likely isn’t on the radar of residents.

Well, that will certainly change if taxes go up.