PORT HAWKESBURY, N.S. — A dispute is heating up over the delivery of fire services in Point Tupper.
The largely-industrial Canso Strait-area community is presently served by the Port Hawkesbury Volunteer Fire Department, but an agreement between the town and the Municipality of the County of Richmond is set to expire on July 15.
According to Port Hawkesbury Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton, a proposal to renew the contract that would keep the town as the first responder to calls in Point Tupper was rejected by the Richmond County officials.
“This will be the third time in three years that Richmond has chosen to change the fire service provider for a very, very important part of our region that provides employment to not only Richmond Country, but to Port Hawkesbury, parts of Inverness and part of the mainland,” said Chisholm-Beaton.
“It’s important to be good stewards to one of the most important industrial bases in our region – unfortunately, for some reason or another, the fact that Richmond County has decided to change fire service providers really compromises the response times.”
The dispute appears to be over the cost of the services.
In a July 2019 deal, Richmond County agreed to pay Port Hawkesbury just under $50,000 over a one-year period for the town to provide first responder fire services to Point Tupper. At the same time, the municipality hired a consultant to carry out a review of its fire services. Richmond received the report in May, but due to its complexity sought an extension of the July 2019 Point Tupper contract while the report’s findings were further reviewed.
The town also wanted to renew the agreement. However, it asked that Richmond County coughs up an additional $25,000 that would raise the service cost to $75,000 per annum.
“I really hope this isn’t the end of the conversation," — Port Hawkesbury Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beato
And that offer apparently didn’t sit well with municipality officials who last week rejected the offer and informed Port Hawkesbury that they would be looking to other fire departments to assume Point Tupper responsibilities.
Chisholm-Beaton said she has reached out to Richmond County Warden Brian Marchand but that her request to meet in person was turned down.
“I really hope this isn’t the end of the conversation,” she said.
“Considering that (the fire service) protects Point Tupper residents, businesses and industry, that generate about $3.6 million in revenue for Richmond County, we think it is a very reasonable ask – it equates to about four cents per $100 of property assessment.”
Port Hawkesbury chief administrative officer Terry Doyle stated in a recent press release that fire services for the town equate to 13 cents per $100 assessment, while Richmond County’s cost is 12 cents per $100.
“The town council feels that this cost-sharing formula is more than fair, it is based on standard practices, and is easily audited,” said Doyle.
For the three years prior to the July 2019 agreement, Richmond County relied on the Louisdale fire department for calls to Point Tupper. And, before that, the Port Hawkesbury department was the first responder for the nearby industrial area.
Richmond County officials were not immediately available for comment on Monday afternoon.
