ASSISTANT CAO BRANCH

Disaster Response

Ten Lac La Biche County firefighters assisted with the High Level-Chuckegg Fires from May to July 2019.

The County added an extra Structure Protection Unit trailer to its inventory.

Emergency Management

Currently, 112 County staff are trained in provincial emergency management at the level of Incident Command System 200 or higher. With this knowledge, staff can respond to emergency incidents (like evacuations) more quickly and efficiently.

Administration reviewed the County’s Community Emergency Management Plan, then had it approved by the Province. Lac La Biche County met the requirements of the provincial Local Authority Emergency Management Regulation, which came into effect on January 1, 2020.

Finance & Grants

County Council approved the 2019 budget on December 11, 2018. The operating expense budget was set at approximately $57.68 million, and capital expenditures were approximately $31.37 million.

Council also approved the 2020 budget on December 10, 2019. Operating expenditures are approximately $53.2 million, and new capital spending is $24 million. $5.65 million were set aside in capital reserves, along with a surplus of approximately $900,000. Surplus and capital reserves allow Council and Administration to fund services and projects as they come up throughout the year. Council also set aside $5 million in a fiscal stabilization fund, which will soften the blow if the County faces losses in assessment and government grants.

A few grants that the County received in 2019 include: • $50,000 from the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association for the Measuring Municipal Inclusion Program, which will help the County become a more inclusive organization. • $747,750 and $123,750 from Alberta Transportation’s Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program. This funding will be used for a bridge replacement and approach lighting, respectively. • $90,000 from Alberta Municipal Affairs under the Alberta Community Partnership Program. This grant helped the County develop Intermunicipal Collaboration Frameworks and Intermunicipal Development Plans with our neighbours. • $38,800 from Travel Alberta, which was spent on the 2019 #TakeItToTheLake campaign, promoting Lac La Biche County as a tourist destination. • $50,000 from the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA) to conduct a variety of Fire Smart activities, including wood chipping, home assessments, public awareness, and other initiatives. The County also received an additional $8,000 from FRIAA to train local firefighters in Fire Smart home assessments and wildland firefighting. • $14,700 from Canada Summer Jobs, which helped fund four County summer positions (two weed inspectors, and two environmental technicians). • $10,000 from Enbridge for AFFRCS radios, which will improve communications for Fire Services and Enforcement Services.

Fire Services

Fire Services responded to 396 emergency incidents in 2019. Approximately $4.7 million in property was saved due to structural firefighting response.

Firefighters took a total of 276 fire-related courses, including those on topics like Fire Smart and sprinkler protection. Firefighters used this training to complete 85 Fire Smart assessments and conduct wood chipping on 85 properties.

The department participated in 63 public events, including fire drills, fire prevention programming at schools and businesses, and fire hall tours for schools and community groups.