By Tyler Waugh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Witless Bay Council says an application to the Province for help funding a new fire truck isn’t in the cards for 2026, but instead wants the fire department to come up with a multi-year plan for the purchase.
Council made the recommendation at its March regular meeting in response to a request to support an application this year. Councillors cited the fact there is no money in the 2026 fire department budget to cover Town’s share of costs for the truck, which would replace an existing unit.
“We know that the truck is up in years, but it’s still useful and we are trying to be proactive, but I don’t think the fire department was aware that they didn’t allocate in their 2026 budget for us to apply for this,” said councillor Ralph Carey. “There’s no point in applying for this if we don’t have the finances. We want to apply when we’ve had the planning put in and put away a few dollars. And if we can get the Province to say yes then we say here you go, here’s our share. But right now we don’t have our share to contribute so there’s no point in making an application.”
CAO Jennifer Aspell said fire trucks are expensive and that cost sharing agreements generally involve an 80-20 provincial-municipal split that usually also includes a multi-year commitment on the part of the Town.
The truck the fire department is looking to replace is a pumper unit that was brought into service in 2006. Aspell said that, although the units generally remain in service past that date, it is also a milestone where replacement plans start to take shape.
