As four full-time jobs at the Yarmouth Fire Department hang in the wind, municipal councils in this region are pondering new funding options.
At issue is the cost of dispatch service in Yarmouth which dozens of fire departments rely on.
The Town of Yarmouth has given notice it will lay-off the four individuals, seeking a better deal for town taxpayers.
Mayor Pam Mood has said the town pays the lion’s share of the cost, compared to the other municipal units.
Alain Muise, the CAO for the Municipality of Argyle says he and is fellow administrators will be looking at newly adjusted figures.
“The CAO’s have obtained information about the cost for other services including a proposed option for the town. They (municipal units) know that the status quo is no longer going to be the case. They know that the current $100 a month will be, in the near future, no longer be the case. They will be assessing the pros and cons around the costs of services done elsewhere versus the cost of service done more locally. I say more locally because the dispatch service of the town actually spans to Shelburne and Digby counties.
Muise says a new fee proposal has to be high enough for the town to consider yet reasonable enough for municipal units and their fire departments to keep using the Yarmouth dispatch.