MAYNOOTH – Change is brewing within the Hastings Highlands Fire Department.
Hastings Highlands council met for its regular meeting on January 22 and discussed a number of items. At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Vic Bodnar asked if anyone in the public had questions before items on the agenda were discussed.
Bill Cheshire was the first to speak. He spoke about the “ballooning fire department administration” noted in a proposed bylaw which would establish and regulate the fire department.
“I didn’t see a compelling and clear business case that council has approved for why a fire department admin that use to take half of a fire chief now has to have four or five times as many employees,” he said. “This is just the admin, not the volunteer firefighters. So I looked at the organization chart, and it looked like there were at least four total – a fire chief, deputy fire chief, an admin clerk and another public relations person.”
Mayor Bodnar said the information on the agenda is subject to change.
If you are already an online subscriber, CLICK HERE to access your subscription and read the full story.
If you wish to subscribe online, CLICK HERE, or you can pick up a copy of the January 29 Valley Gazette for the complete story.