Minto and Wellington North have shared a fire chief and deputy chiefs since 2020
NORTH WELLINGTON – A third township may be joining a shared fire chief agreement between two Wellington County municipalities.
A Wellington North report recommends continuing a shared fire services management agreement between Wellington North and Minto and expanding it to also include Mapleton.
In 2020, Wellington North and Minto ended up in an arrangement where both municipal fire departments shared a common administration, in this case fire chief Chris Harrow from Minto and two deputy chiefs.
This was meant as a way to find efficiencies and synergies as identified by a consultant’s study.
The latest proposed agreement would see the Town of Minto employ six people: a director of fire services or fire chief, two deputy chiefs, a training officer, administration/public educator and a fire inspector/plans examiner. Minto would contract out the services to Mapleton and Wellington North in a cost sharing agreement.
A joint oversight committee would be created consisting of CAOs and council representatives from each municipality.
The report noted adding Mapleton to this would mean the cost sharing structure is revised to be 40 per cent covered by Minto, and 30 per cent each from Wellington North and Mapleton.
Other benefits noted include significant savings in the fire administration budget, an expanded expertise from more management staff, more opportunities to share resources and equipment, and greater oversight.
Harrow has been the joint fire chief since the partnership between Wellington North and Minto started in 2020. Longtime Mapleton fire chief Rick Richardson retired in the summer of 2023 with an interim fire chief put in place shortly afterwards.
This report will go forward at a Wellington North council meeting on Monday at 7 p.m