By KEVIN BERGER, Local Journalism Initiative
Both the City of Martensville and City of Warman councils were called on recently to approve a three-month extension to the Fire Protection Agreement with the RM of Corman Park to allow more time for re-negotiation of the contract.
Martensville councillors voted during their June 16 meeting to extend the current contract’s end date from June 30 to September 30, 2026.
Warman councillors also reviewed a report on the extension request at their June 15 committee of the whole meeting. They then voted to approve the request at their June 22 council meeting.
As noted in the administration reports to both councils, all of the municipalities in the Fire Services Agreement — Warman, Martensville, Dalmeny, Langham, Osler and Corman Park — have been meeting regularly to work out a new agreement in recent months.
Warman City Manager Amanda Rosenthal-Hiebert noted the current Fire Protection Agreement between the RM and the other five municipalities dates back to July 1, 2018.
Back in April, RM of Corman Park councillors approved the adoption of a new compensation model within the agreement, one that better reflects the number of calls each fire department responds to.
Previously, the RM paid each partner an annual fixed amount of $80,000, along with a service fee per call based on hourly rates for fire services provided within the municipality.
The new model endorsed by Corman Park council in April would see the RM pay each partner $80,000 and then disperse another $200,000 based on call volume, with fire departments that respond to a high number of calls (such as Martensville) receiving the most money.
Martensville City Manager Tanya Garost indicated the new agreement will be “vastly different” than the previous version.
“I would say it’s incredibly improved over what we had,” she added.
That said, it is taking some time to negotiate the agreement between all six partners, and while Garost suggested they are near a final draft, they need a little more time.
Warman City Manager Amanda Rosenthal-Hiebert also indicated that while significant progress has been made on the new agreement, several items are still being discussed.