New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services could see its biggest growth in staffing in decades in 2024.
At a Dec. 11 workshop, council discussed three budget scenarios – and their potential impacts on the 2024 property tax. Each of those scenarios included items related to the fire department:
- Scenario 1 included a staffing position in fire prevention (budgeted at $0.1 million) and in emergency management ($0.1 million)
- Scenario 2 included the addition of two suppression firefighters (budgeted at $0.3 million)
- Scenario 3 included included the addition of seven suppression firefighters (budgeted at $1 million)
Jaqueline Dairon, the city’s acting director of finance, said the positions included in Scenario 1 are part of a “baseline” budget, as they’re positions related to legislative and regulatory work within fire prevention and emergency management. Scenario 2 includes two suppression firefighters and Scenario 3 includes seven additional firefighters – part of the city’s multi-year strategy for building up the department.
Fire Chief Erin Williams said the department developed a multi-year staffing model, which ties into its new 2023 to 2026 strategic plan.
“Part of that is, in that three- or four-year period, to reach up to our staffing levels,” he said.
Coun. Daniel Fontaine questioned if the New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services is comfortable, from a fire suppression and a safety perspective, in having council approve Scenario 2, and not approve the seven additional firefighters included in Scenario 3.
“Well, more is always better, obviously. But with the understanding that there is limited funds and there is financial impact to whatever we ask for with the other departments,” Williams replied. “We're prepared for either one of those scenarios, but we would prefer more.”
Williams said the budget scenarios took into account New Westminster’ Fire and Rescue Services’ strategy for addressing its staffing needs.
“We have two apparatus right now that we have just two people on, and it's becoming harder and harder for those two people to do their work and maintain situational awareness,” he said. “So, with the hiring strategy, we thought we can put an extra person on those apparatus. And that’s where we started with our numbers.”
An increased staff complement in the fire department also fits into its future plans for a fourth fire hall and the operational needs that would result from having a new facility.
At the Dec. 11 workshop, council unanimously supported Coun. Daniel Fontaine’s motion to support the Scenario 2 budget presented by staff – with the addition of firefighter positions included in Scenario 3.
Council members questioned staff about the tax impact of funding the seven additional firefighters’ positions.
Dairon said the positions would cost about $1 million, which would be funded through tax revenue. This is the equivalent of about a one per cent property tax increase.
Williams told council it’s likely the hiring of seven additional firefighters would result in some “offsets” in the budget because overtime costs would likely decrease. He said the new positions would result in additional costs for items such as uniforms and training costs.
Staff will provide council with more details when they report back on the budget in January 2024.
Why more firefighters?
Saying it looks like the fire department is “doing well,” Coun. Jaimie McEvoy questioned the reasoning behind the request for more firefighters.
Through an analysis of its staffing model, Williams said the department has recognized that “mental health is suffering” for first responders – and that’s something that drives up sickness and overtime and puts pressure on its budget. He also noted the increased call load being faced by the fire department.
“We're on target for over 7,500 responses. Four or five years ago, we were probably at 5,000 calls for service,” he said of annual calls attended. “So everything is on the increase.”
Williams said the fire department has also found that regional events, like the heat dome, left the city “exposed” for a response.
“Normally we'd require mutual aid through other departments. But when other departments are having the same struggles that we are, we need to be able to rely on our own staff,” he said. “So having more staff on shift will be beneficial in that regard.”
The building typology in New Westminster is changing, Williams said.
“Responding to a highrise would require a lot more firefighters,” he said. “And when you look at the provincial regulations that are coming up for housing, I think everybody here can see that that's going to translate into increased vertical buildings in our community.”
Given all those factors, Williams said there will be a time when the city is going to need more firefighters – maybe even more than what’s now being requested.
“It's been a very long time since we've had an increase to our staffing levels,” he added. “So we're playing a bit of catch-up here as well.”
While council unanimously supported directing staff to include Scenario 3 firefighting options in the draft 2024 general fund operating budget, it defeated a subsequent motion from Fontaine to fund parts of the budget, including the firefighting positions, through the climate action reserve. You can read more about that discussion here.
New Westminster and Fire Rescue Services isn’t the only city department where additional staff are being proposed.
According to a report to council, the city is “presently confronting a number of competing priorities” and a staffing increase of about 55 new fulltime equivalent positions is being recommended for 2024. This equates to an approximate 10 per cent increase to the exiting workforce.
“Successful execution of this prioritized expansion requires additional support and collaboration from human resources, information technology, and facilities management,” said the report. “To support this expansion, staff are recommending a multi-year funding strategy that aligns with current hiring expectations.”
