Waltham council was divided at a Dec. 11 meeting that two councillors called to discuss options they believe can help the municipality save money on fire services. 

Councillors Brendan Adam and Holli Lair called the meeting to inform the public about a $350,000 grant available through the province’s ministry of municipal affairs, which is meant to encourage inter-municipal cooperation.  

Adam said the grant could help Waltham and the other municipalities of Pontiac Ouest – L’Isle-aux-Allumettes, Chichester and Sheenboro – save money on fire services, if Waltham were to join the merged department.  

In Pontiac Ouest’s 2025 budget, Chichester and Sheenboro each paid 25 per cent of costs – an amount of $72,075.00. Waltham chief Larry Perry’s proposed fire department budget for 2026, which has not been officially passed by council, is $113,457, which does not include the $30,000 cost of new bunker suits and several other upgrades needed to the department. 

Adam pointed out that Waltham could pay similar costs to Chichester and Sheenboro if it joined Pontiac Ouest. “There’s a difference of $40,000, to similar municipalities to ours,” he said. 

Waltham mayor Jordan Evans requested that Adam officially submit the documents for council before allowing him to proceed with his presentation. She said Waltham council had already turned down a motion at a recent meeting to begin talks with L’Isle-aux-Allumettes for an updated mutual aid agreement.  

Adam said the purpose of presenting the information was solely to inform the public about the grant and its possible benefits. “I’m being very informational,” said Adam.

Many firefighters were in attendance to express their concerns about a merged department, including a potential loss of services at the Waltham fire hall and loss of capacity to respond to emergencies. 

“[What about] when your house catches fire, and you’ve got to wait for a fire house to show up?” said firefighter Tom Dubreuil. 

Adam noted the committee that oversees Pontiac Ouest is made up of representatives from each involved municipality, so Waltham would have a seat at the table. 

“We would have representation on that committee about where that money gets spent,” he said. 

Adam affirmed his intention to have a functioning fire hall in Waltham, even if Waltham were part of Pontiac Ouest. 

“If any negotiations were to take part in any way that would suggest we’d be closing the fire department in Waltham, as in not having a fire hall here, I am 100 per cent opposed,” he said. 

In the end, firefighters made their message clear. Perry asked firefighters in attendance to raise their hand if they were not interested in amalgamation, to which all hands went up. 

“You asked for input – that’s the input,” Perry said. 

Councillor Tyler Rochon, who voted down the motion to explore conversations with L’Isle-aux-Allumettes, said after the meeting that he feels it is important to continue to support the fire department, after everything its members have done for the community.  

“They’re very important to us, and I think a lot of people have a lot of pride in it, and I think we owe it to them to fight for them,” he said.    

Waltham mayor Jordan Evans said with a new council, the municipality needs more time to explore its options. The submission deadline for the $350,000 intermunicipal grant is in April, and the municipality’s 2026 budget must be passed by the end of January. 

“It’s to give us some more time,” she said. “We don’t want to be pressured by a financial incentive that’s not a guarantee.”