Residential tax break for town volunteer firefighters

By Mickey Dumont Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Understanding it is hard to attract volunteers to put out your fires, the Town of Claresholm council is taking steps to make it easier to attract and keep its volunteer firefighters’ cohort.
“Recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters has become increasingly difficult over the past number of years,” Town of Claresholm Chief Administrator Officer Abe Tinney explained to town council at its Nov. 25 meeting.
“We are now in a position, due to resignations and inability to recruit new members, that we have had to consolidate four partial crews into three full crews. Essentially, we are now doing the work of 26 members with only 23; and our projected call volume for 2023-24 is at over 300 (based on responses year to date),” he said.
Town council approved a recruitment and retention tax incentive program proposed by Claresholm Fire Chief Craig White.
The program, already successful in Picture Butte and Coaldale, will offer up to a $1,000 tax rebate to volunteer firefighters who own and occupy a home in Claresholm and up to a $2,000 tax rebate to town businesses that employ a volunteer firefighter and allow them to respond to calls during working hours without loss of hourly pay.
Volunteer firefighters who rent or live in the M.D. will not be able to take advantage of the municipal tax incentive. You have to pay taxes in Claresholm, so the volunteer firefighter program can rebate them. Tinney added the fire chief has had discussions with his volunteers.
Seven of 12 volunteers could qualify for the incentive, based on a sliding scale of hours of service.
“He did not really see that as a barrier when I asked him specifically about that,” Coun. Rod Kettles added.
“The town fire chief and CAO have reached out to their respective counterparts at the M.D. of Willow Creek to advise that this incentive has been approved by our emergency services committee and will be forwarded to council for decision. At this time, the M.D. of Willow Creek has declined to commit to a similar program, therefore, members who reside in the M.D. of Willow Creek will be ineligible,” Tinney said.
The impact on the property tax roll calculated from 2023, the most recent numbers, would have been $11,250. There would not have been any businesses that qualified in 2023.
“To offset the impact, the fire department would cover a portion of this program to a maximum of $15,000 per year by way of reducing capital transfers to reserves in equal amounts so there is no proposed tax increase to cover the loss of taxes,” Tinney said.
“I love my fire department, it is a great resource,” Coun. Mike Cutler said. “My only concern is if we give these volunteers tax incentives, then the next group is going to want tax incentives, and the next group is going to want tax incentives. What is keeping them from getting people in the fire department? Is it the $1,000 of taxes, that’s keeping them from getting people on the fire department?”
“I think the fire department’s maybe a beast of a little bit different nature,” countered Kettles. “The discussion from Chief White was that it would be impactful. He felt it would be another tool in the tool belt to help recruitment.
“(This) will provide the kick-start needed to fill out our roster, and hopefully have a pool of applicants available to backfill vacancies and retirements,” Tinney said.
Coun. Craig Zimmer sits on the emergency services committee.
“Nobody has approached and said they needed money from us. I think it is just an incentive. I don’t know if struggling is the word I want to use, but to find the volunteers that take the time seriously to volunteer is getting harder and harder as the years go on,” Zimmer said. “And to help retain as well, not to just recruit, but it also helps retain, too.”
“I get it. I get the recruitment and retention piece. I understand. I’m a part of the physician recruitment. But Peter and Paul and Henry and Frank are all just kind of stealing from each other,” Cutler said of the tax incentive program.
“We’re going to put our $15,000 instead of deferring it into our reserves and we’re going to pay off those types of things. But those reserves are what’s going to pay for a new building that we’re going to end up paying for later anyhow,” he cautioned. “I just have those questions and worry about the efficacy and the continuity of the whole program.”
“They’re an essential service,” Mayor Brad Schlossberger said. “Where would we be if they were short six guys on that fire department?”
Zimmer made the motion to adopt the new policy. Councillors Zimmer, Kettles, Kandice Meister and Diana Ross voted in favour. Cutler was opposed and Coun. Kieth Carlson was absent.