Break-and-enters and vehicle thefts are on the rise in the area, according to a quarterly report presented by the Athabasca RCMP.
Athabasca RCMP Staff Sgt. Brian Nicholl appeared before council and said after a lull in break-and-enters, there has been a sudden rise over the past quarter.
“We were really high last year for break-and-enters, not in town; they were all outside of here,” Nicholl said. “It dropped dramatically to almost nothing, and now in the last little while we’re seeing an increase again. A lot of it is people starting to come out of jail.”
Nicholl went through the number of cases his detachment has faced over the past quarter, which ran from July to September.
He highlighted a recent spike in car thefts due to people leaving their vehicles running and unattended due to the cold weather.
“’Tis the season that everybody gets out, starts up their car. People go out and leave their keys in the car,” Nicholl said.
The Athabasca Fire Department is seeking to change its fire chief position from volunteer to a full-time staff member.
Fire chief Travis Shalapay presented before Athabasca town council Nov. 20 to discuss the proposal. Shalapay said that over the past 10 years, rural Alberta has seen an increase in the formalization of fire services due to improving standards and increased public expectation.
“Everything comes with more work, more time, more paperwork. It’s something we've really been struggling with as time goes on,” Shalapay said. “The days of the butcher, the baker and the candle-stick maker closing up shop, going out and fighting the fires … that’s not where we’re at anymore.”
Shalapay said a paid fire chief could dedicate time to handling a lot of the paper and overhead work, which would reduce the strain on volunteers.
He estimated the cost would be pay for a fire chief would be $81,000 to $100,000 including benefits. However, he added with operational cost recoveries, the cost for the town could be limited to $70,000.
Council unanimously voted to refer the proposal to budget deliberations.
