City council decides to use additional tax dollars to maintain integrated fire and ambulance service

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Bluesky
• Share on X
• Copy Link

The option was proposed by councillor Jaelene Tweedle after two failed resolutions from councillors Kraymer Barnstable and Adam Goodwin.

Pursue new contract with province

City council decides to use additional tax dollars to maintain integrated fire and ambulance service

2h ago

Located on 40 Avenue

Bower Woods rezoning goes ahead at Red Deer city council meeting

5h ago

april 30 to may 2

Measles exposure suspected at The Hamlets in Gasoline Alley

6h ago

Ultimately, the resolution was passed by a 6-3 vote with councillors Chad Krahn, Kraymer Barnstable, and Bruce Buruma opposed.

Councillors Jaelene Tweedle, Adam Goodwin, Tristin Brisbois, Dianne Wyntjes, Cassandra Curtis, and Mayor Cindy Jefferies were in favour.

Tweedle said she was reluctant to propose the option because she’s annoyed with the provincial government.

She added that this has been a rushed and forced process, and seemed to alienate the work that is done in local municipalities.

“I realize the impacts [of this option]. I am someone who values services and safety, and also someone who’s very aware of the finances of the city,” she said. “We’ve gotten a few letters from the public saying I have no problem putting towards my extra tax dollars and one that came and said I’m sure most Red Deerians wouldn’t either. We can’t put those words in other peoples mouths.”

Councillor Barnstable tried to sway his fellow councillors with a reminder of fiscal responsibility.

He said this option wasn’t feasible from a financial standpoint.

“We can’t continually take on the downloads from the province and just say hey, we’ll deal with it… I get we want to have service, but we can’t go out and march a banner in a month from now and say our term direction is fiscal responsibility, and then have the first really important decision in front of us and take the most expensive option,” Barnstable said.

Councillor Brisbois said typically she would lean on the side of fiscal responsibility, but said this decision could impact lives.

Mayor Jefferies said she did not like to have to spend additional tax dollars, but that Red Deerians take great pride in the city’s integrated services.

“I hope that we’ll be able to come up with a solution made in Red Deer going forward, and I challenge all of us to do that,” she said.

Administration supplied council with multiple options to choose from, including:

• Continuing to provide EMS integrated services (additional tax-supported funding required) – whether through a reduced-cost branch model or through a fully-funded integrated model.

• Maintaining current funding levels and pursuing a competitive process within the current allocated budget (no additional tax-supported funding required).

• Transitioning out of EMS service delivery entirely (no tax increase).

This comes after the city was given an extension in March from Alberta’s EHS to decide on the matter.

They obliged and extended the deadline from March 31 to May 24 to renew the current contract. The city asked for an extension because they felt two weeks was too rushed. However, the deadline to respond to negotiations with the province is set for May 31.

More specifically, they were asked to match the EHS benchmark costs with the difference in any cost to come from Red Deer taxpayers or to not deliver the ambulance service, and EHS would then go out for a request for proposal.

For background, the City of Red Deer has a contract with the province to deliver ground ambulance services in Red Deer, which includes eight ambulances.

They deliver it through an integrated model, and all of the city’s firefighters are also paramedics, who can serve on either a fire apparatus or an ambulance. There are life support capabilities on the fire engines as well as the ambulances.

In total, there are only seven other municipalities in the province that deliver this kind of model. This includes Red Deer, Leduc, St. Albert, Lethbridge, Strathcona County, Spruce Grove, and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

The current contract to deliver the services was negotiated approximately two years ago. The term of the contract was to go until Sept. 30, 2026. Previously, the city signed contracts to deliver EMS through an integrated model in 2009, 2014, and 2024.