Federation Council has vowed to support volunteers, the de-teaming from the Southern Border Team and to restore a "fit-for-purpose" local service.
A rift between Federation Council and the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) has reached a flashpoint, with local leaders wanting to de-team from the long-standing regional management structure and restore a "fit-for-purpose" local service.
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At the heart of the dispute is Council’s push to "de-team" from the Southern Border Team (SBT), a voluntary arrangement formed in 2006/2007 that placed Federation and Berrigan fire districts under Albury-based management.
Federation Council argues that, after two decades, the experiment has failed, citing a "tyranny of distance" and a "dis-economy of scale" leaving local communities vulnerable during emergencies.
The move follows two volunteer meetings at Rennie and Berrigan where the message was clear that service levels are no longer acceptable.
General manager, Adrian Butler told councillors last week that draft minutes from the most recent District Liaison Committee meeting on February 26 did not reflect the comments and statements made by him.
Mayor Cheryl Cook supported Mr Butler saying the “lack of completeness” about views put out by the general manager was definitely evident.
“The conservation was repeated that it would never happen, that it was too costly and would require a whole new fire centre and staff,” Mr Butler said.
“We won’t walk away from the fact that there could be some costs involved but I can’t see at this point how council would be requested to pay any more than our statutory payment of 11 per cent.
“There was a strong push from the RFS to get the issues onto the table, tick them off and solve them, but they are systemic and have built up and come and gone over many years.
“That has led to a lot of the disgruntlement … and the recent fires have shown that we deserve to be back there at Corowa.”
Council maintains the recently refurbished Corowa RFS Centre is already fit-for-purpose and could operate under a leaner model using existing infrastructure and the strategic support of the State’s Area Command.
Council maintains the recently refurbished Corowa RFS centre is already fit-for-purpose.
At the centre of the tug-of-war is the Service Level Agreement (SLA), the primary document which defines the roles and responsibilities of both parties.
Federation Council has not had a valid SLA since its creation in 2016, relying on a 2007 document from the former Corowa Shire.
Progress on a new agreement is stalled by a state-wide dispute over the Red Fleet and ownership of the firefighting vehicles.
In the meantime, Council is moving forward with plans to allocate $15,000 for design work to expand the Corowa RFS site, potentially adding the SES to create a local emergency services hub.
Councillors unanimously supported a motion to request formal agreement from the RFS so planning can occur to protect Federation and Berrigan LGAs from July 1, 2027.
