Mountain View County will extend an offer to its urban municipal partners to finance the $425,636.35 purchase of upgraded self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for their fire departments, councillors decided at the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
Under the financing proposal, the county would borrow the money from the Alberta Capital Finance Corporation, with the municipalities paying back their respective portions of the costs over time.
Under existing fire agreements between the county and the towns, the county would cover 50 per cent of the cost for Olds, Sundre, Didsbury and Carstairs, and 80 per cent for Cremona.
SCBAs are similar to scuba tanks and are used by firefighters entering smoke-filled buildings and at other emergency scenes.
The decision to offer the financing option came following discussions at a recent joint fire advisory meeting, where possible funding strategies were discussed.
“It is county administration's position that the county should take the lead role in committing to the purchase as we are the largest partner and are involved in all five departments,” director of legislative services Jeff Holmes said in a briefing note to council.
“To provide our urban partners with a clear indication of our commitment, it is recommended that if council approves moving forward with the purchase, the county should extend an offer to borrow the required funds on behalf of all five departments.”
The county has sufficient borrowing capacity that the impact (of the loan) would not affect current budget plans, he said.
“In extending the offer to our urban partners, each municipality would be given an opportunity to pay their share up front rather than participating in an annual repayment plan using revenues received from fire calls,” he said.
“Independent agreements for repayment with each urban partner will be required if all parties agree this is the best method to complete the SCBA group purchase.”
If it is agreed that the county will borrow the money, a borrowing bylaw would be required, council heard.
