Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
At its regular council meeting on Jan. 8, Town of Peace River extended their Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for Fire Services between them and the M.D. of Peace River No. 135.
“The previous 3-year agreement expired at the end of 2023 and because discussions on a new agreement have not happened, administration hopes to extend the agreement for one year to facilitate discussions,” says Mayor Elaine Manzer.
“Peace River council approved a one-year extension of the existing Memorandum of Agreement for Fire Services with a three per cent increase to the rate paid in 2023.”
Manzer says this maintains a consistent fire service for people in the region, while giving both administrations time to review the agreement and current service provisions. Peace River hopes to bring forward a renewed agreement with any changes that may be required, allowing for any potential inflationary costs.
“That (making a 3-year agreement) will be the aim of the discussions during 2024,” explainss Manzer.
“It is hoped that this will continue to be a beneficial relationship for the Town to provide this service to M.D. residents and business.”
The agreement has been in place for many years, ensuring both municipalities can use fire resources.
“Peace River has fixed costs to fire services no matter how many times the services are used and this agreement helps to make these costs transparent and known for budgeting purposes for both municipalities,” says Manzer.
“When there is a fire event in the east end of the M.D., Peace River’s department will respond with its resources,” she concludes.