Shelburne Town Council’s plans to discuss the future of fire services in the community have been pushed back to a later council meeting.
During their meeting on Monday (May 26), Shelburne Town Council was slated to discuss a report regarding future fire services and the dissolution of the Shelburne and District Fire Board. Deputy Mayor Shane Hall brought forward a motion to postpone the report until their next meeting, as Coun. Len Guchardi, Coun. Dan Sample, and Coun. Kyle Fegan was absent from the vote.
“Based on the importance of this report that’s coming forward, and there’s only four of us here, I’d like to defer until the next meeting so we can have a full council discussion,” explained Hall.
In December of 2024, Shelburne Town Council supported the recommendation to dissolve the Shelburne & District Fire Department Fire Board and instead take over management of the service as a municipality while contracting out to the surrounding communities.
The Shelburne & District Fire Department, located at 114 O’Flynn Street, serves the communities of Amaranth, Melancthon, Mono, Mulmur and Shelburne. The department consists of one full-time fire chief, one volunteer deputy fire chief and 28 volunteer firefighters.
In its existing structure, the Shelburne & District Fire Department is operated by the Shelburne District Fire Board, which consists of two representatives from each of the five municipalities, and provides emergency services to the Town of Shelburne and surrounding communities.
The County of Dufferin completed a Multi-Jurisdictional Fire Prevention and Protection Modernization Plan and in September of 2024, four recommendations were approved by Dufferin County Council.
The four options recommended for the Shelburne & District Fire Department (SDFD), included:
1. A single fire department operated by the County of Dufferin
2. A single fire department operated by the Town of Orangeville
3. Governance of the various fire departments revert to municipal councils with a contract for service model
4. “Status quo” with some enhanced administrative supports
The May 26 report looks to outline a number of aspects surrounding the dissolution of the local fire board including, responses from the other municipalities who utilize the service, the estimated $15 million expansion of the fire hall, fees for the service model, and one-time capital buy-outs.
The report is expected to return to the Shelburne Town Council agenda for June 2.