Concern about Kincardine’s withdrawal from the Paisley Fire Board still exists.
John Thornburn — a resident of the former Bruce Township — told Kincardine Council last night that residents are still concerned about the plan.
Thornburn says they are worried it will mean a decline in service quality and higher home insurance rates for homeowners.
The residents are also afraid that response times will go up if the Tiverton fire station instead starts to serve part of their area.
A petition with 165 signatures against the plan has been submitted to council.
Deputy Mayor Laura Haight says she doesn’t want to disparage the concerns of the residents, but believes the concerns are much ado about very little.
She says Kincardine is pleased with the service the area gets from Paisley but the administration of it is what needs to change.
Kincardine simply wants to pay Paisley for the service instead of being a part owner of it.
Councillor Mike Leggett — Kincardine’s representative on the Paisley Fire Board — says they have received no documents from Arran-Elderslie indicating there will be any reductions or extra costs for the service.
He notes plans are in the works for a meeting to hammer out a service agreement.
Councillor Randy Roppel says not good enough of a job was done to keep the affected residents informed about changes to the fire service.
But Thornburn says Council is assuming Arran-Elderslie plans to keep providing the service — noting there will be trouble if they decide not to.
Haight insists that service for the Bruce Township residents could in fact improve under the new plan.
She notes there could be an opportunity for the Tiverton station to provide high angle rescue, something that the Paisley department does not provide.