3. What are your thoughts on the current strategy to reduce overtime costs for fire and emergency first responders? Do you believe it is effective or in need of revision?

At the Firefighters Forum, I talked about how hiring more firemedics in Red Deer is the best way to cut overtime and keep everyone safe. Last year, we spent over $3.2 million on overtime—that’s enough to hire roughly 25 to 35 new firemedics. My goal is to bring in 50 new firemedics by the end of 2026.

Above all else, we need to listen to the association and the boots on the ground about how we can make things run more efficiently without compromising public safety. I have never heard, in my life, of a city or town closing a fire station part-time simply to reduce staffing. We are lucky to have a top-rated firemedic service that is currently able to bridge the gap—but if we had a serious fire in our city, with old building codes grandfathered in, there is a real risk of lives being lost with the current staffing and coverage strategy. Imagine if one of the seniors’ high-rises or one of the Capstone high-rises caught fire—would we have the staff available at 2 a.m. to save lives?

Instead of addressing the staffing issue properly, the city responded with a “dynamic staffing” model and a $600,000 cut to the budget, all while keeping a fire chief who received a 99% non-confidence vote from 87%* of the association membership. This is not effective leadership.

People often compare our spending to Edmonton, but it’s not the same. Edmonton has over a thousand staff and more than 30 stations, each division separate for fire, rescue, and medical services. Here in Red Deer, we have fewer than 200 staff and fewer stations, and our firefighters are firemedics, which is more efficient, safer, and gets help to people faster—sometimes saving lives. The budget for emergency services should never be compared percentage-wise to parks, as incumbent candidate Victor Doerksen did. A human life has far greater value than a tree.

We can pay for this and move forward without raising taxes by not wasting money, using a $1 saved for $1 new spending strategy, streamlining departments, and downloading non-core services to third-party organizations through contracting—examples include tourism, economic development promotion, culture and heritage programming, the sale of vacant public lands and buildings, and (as one candidate mentioned) the sale of the electric company while maintaining a shareholder stake in it. Even when fire and medical services are combined, AHS can still help with equipment and training. Investing in more firemedics and planning ahead means faster response times and a safer community for everyone.

​Last night I had the honour of participating in the Red Deer Firefighters’ all-candidates forum, focused on safe staffing levels in our city. I was one of 21 candidates, and the room was filled with approximately 350–400 people (by my count, each row in front of me had about 10 people, so there were at least 200–250 in the main room alone).

The conversation was passionate and, at times, intense — especially around fire services and the City’s approach to staffing and core services. There were moments where it could have become tense, but overall it stayed mostly respectful. We shared a couple laughs, and along with the audience, I think we’re all still looking for that train — though we were reminded by current councillors that the process is complicated, and unless you’re on council, it’s probably too complex to fully understand where your tax dollars are being spent. Transparency, accountability, and clear communication should be priorities, but they don’t always reach the public.

Being part of the forum reinforced how important it is for residents to stay informed and engaged in decisions that affect our community’s safety. I’m grateful to everyone who attended and took the time to participate, and a special thanks to Brad Readman and the Red Deer Firefighters for organizing such an important event.

Photo credit: Red Deer Firefighters, Willson Tech from video https://www.youtube.com/live/NR1aRNqs8Mo?si=D3qo_IFJXj1usGlA
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These are embedded at the portions where I speak:

It's really this simple. These are the minimum requirements needed to protect our City.

By Kevin M. Klerks, Candidate for Councillor, City of Red Deer

Dear Red Deerians,

Recent comments from Mayor Johnston and City Manager Lodewyk regarding Red Deer Firefighters staffing and funding highlight a deeper issue: instead of addressing the real problem, The City of Red Deer leadership has chosen to criticize those raising legitimate public safety concerns. While respectful communication is important, dismissing firefighters’ warnings undermines trust and ignores the reality of our growing city.

It is notable that the letter was signed only by the City Manager and Mayor, lacking the signatures of other Council members. While not required, with the election so close, residents should know where every councillor stands. I believe all decision-makers should be held accountable for the city’s actions, particularly over the next several weeks.

The timing also raises concerns — in jurisdictions across the country, a “lame duck” period (status-quo) exists before an election to prevent outgoing officials from making controversial decisions or incurring additional expenses. Red Deer currently has no such policy, though perhaps it should, ideally for the 6-90 days leading up to an election, to ensure responsible governance and protect taxpayer interests.

I could respond to their letter point by point, but as a candidate and hopefully future Councillor, my responsibility is to serve the residents of Red Deer and listen to the voices of the people I serve — not the Administration. I am concerned first with what residents think, not with what a likely soon-to-be unelected Mayor and Council feel.

The situation at Station 2 is serious. Staffing levels repeatedly fall below recommended standards, and temporary measures do not solve the long-term problem. Response times remain longer than they should be, putting residents and firefighters at risk. Notably, the fire chief has received a 99% vote of non-confidence from the majority of union members, signaling a significant breakdown in trust between leadership and frontline staff.

If public safety and community well-being were truly a shared priority, this breakdown in communication and understanding would never have occurred. Instead, the City has chosen to discipline firefighters publicly for expressing a difference of opinion — a move that is both unprofessional and politically unwise.
Here’s what Red Deer requires to move forward responsibly:

* A permanent increase in fire-medic staffing by at least 25%, ensuring crews are fully prepared for every shift at every station.

* Planning and funding for an additional fire station to meet the city’s projected growth.

* Budget decisions that prioritize essential emergency services over short-term savings or symbolic projects.

* Open, transparent discussion in Council chambers so residents and frontline staff can see and understand the decisions being made.

Leadership is about listening, taking action, and putting public safety first. This debate is not about billboards or personalities — it is about ensuring that when someone dials 911, trained professionals are ready and equipped to respond.

Red Deer deserves a City Council and Mayor who focus on solutions, not optics, and who foster collaboration instead of public confrontation.

Kevin M. Klerks
Candidate for Councillor, City of Red Deer
Plan Smart, Build Strong, And Save For The Future!

COMMENT POST BY RED DEER FIREFIGHTERS ON FACEBOOK TODAY:
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"On August 25th at 6:05pm, Red Deer Firefighters responded to a structure fire in Station 1’s area.
Crews arrived quickly and made a fast knockdown on the fire, preventing it from spreading further.
But calls like this demand multiple resources: Engine 1, Engine 2, Engine 3, Ladder 5, the Platoon Chief, EMS Supervisor, and Red Deer Medic 1.
That leaves just one single engine to cover the entire rest of the city. And when Engine 2 isn’t staffed, as happens far too often under the City’s unsafe dynamic staffing policy, there are no engines left at all to protect the community while crews are tied up at a major incident.
This is what a lack of depth looks like. It’s not just about one fire, it’s about the risk created when the rest of the city is left unprotected.
4 Firefighters. Every truck. Every call. Every day. Red Deer deserves better." -Red Deer Firefighters

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MY REPLY TO POST
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Along with proper funding and equipment to meet our city’s RDES needs, we must increase fire-medic permanent staffing by 25%. That means moving from 194 to 242 fire-medics, rather than the current 'temporary' addition of 12 EMT-only staff and just 2 permanent fire-medics (bringing the total to 206). We should also begin planning for another station within the next decade. Our population is expected to increase to 151,000 by 2035 (we need 6-7 vs 4.5 fire stations to meet that demand of mostly multi-storey/multi-family units like Capstone).

How will we pay for it? Well, even if you pay each new hire $105,000* (the first class rate not probationary) that's $4,830,000*. We paid $11,300,000* to rehabilitate the 'Homeless Highway' (the old CPR Bridge that CPR abandoned in the 1990s). New hires are "about" $56,000* so we're talking $2,680,000*. The overtime in 2024 was $3,200,000*. (1,900 OT shifts). Instead, the current City Council cut the RDES budget by $600,000* this year. aka 'stop wasting money on vanity projects.'

Plan Smart, Build Strong, And Save For The Future!!
www.kevinmklerks.ca

I REPLIED TO IT: Maybe in theory, they can't even know that for certain yet because they'd have to complete 3 financial years (1 old, then 2 years dynamic) to see for certain. And it's still theory in the end because you can't factor in purchasing the right equipment (or having to heavily modify the wrong equipment you purchased), the growth of the city, even the weather, all play into the money spent on emergency services overall.

The Mayor (and I imagine Council has to as well) and the paperwork compare us to Edmonton and Calgary which are (really) like comparing apples and oranges. We should be compared to other cities (like Lethbridge) of similar population density and size. Red Deer is uniquely in the middle, not a behemoth like Calg/Edm and not small like Airdrie or Fort Mac (which has its' own unique challenges with the mines and massive forests nearly, as we saw).

It's reported we have about 112,917 people in Red Deer in 2024, expecting to be close to 115,000 this year. Capstone as it develops will add another 5,000, maybe we develop Michener, that's another few hundred. Our city is growing and now is the time we need all of this sorted out, not 5+ years from now when it's too late. This current City Council is not the answer.

There was 1,900 OT hours costing $3.4M* in previous year, they have also cut $600,000 from the Emergency Services budget this year (while raising residential taxes 10.5%*). I've yet to read or talk to a single person who has said they want to pay 'more' property taxes. Last year it went up 6.25% was it, this year 10.5%, and the city had an $18.5M shortfall on their budget this year (aka deficit). It is, and has been, mismanaged for several years.

So we're $3.4M in overtime, gotta cut that! But then we waste $11.3M (Red Deer portion) on the rehabilitation of the CPR Bridge (so far 97% of the people I've spoken to oppose the project)? The math doesn't math!
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The overall concept of Dynamic staffing, which includes merging fire and medics (fire-medics) would work, but only if all stations are adequately staffed with 4+ firemedics per engine (not staff per station total). They should scrap the whole program and just say - 'look we're merging Fire and EMS, let's make this work and get AHS to pick up a good chunk of the tab as well (like they just did in Fort Mac when it went back to dynamic staffing)'.

I may not have personal experiences of the fire department responding to my or my family’s emergencies (thank goodness), nor do I have firefighters in my family, but that does not diminish the vital role Red Deer Firefighters—and all emergency services—play in keeping our community safe and strong, particularly in a growing city like ours. I fully support our firefighters and the need to ensure they are properly staffed and resourced.

Prior to its recent discussion on the below podcast, I was the only candidate openly expressing strong support for the Fire Department. Rather than hosting a podcast and navigating whether discussing my campaign on my own podcast counts as advertising, I dedicate most of my time to direct community engagement—listening to residents, having meaningful conversations, and understanding their valid concerns.

We need to increase fire-medic staffing. I have said this since I first heard about our staffing problems. I often commented on the City of Red Deer page as to why they were spending media time promoting their transition of Red Deer EL&P into a Corporation and not doing Fire Fighter recruitment videos. I've since learned why - because they are mismanaged and misdirected by Council.

Without digging into any statistics I would say right off: If there are currently 30 total staff (per shift), we should aim to have at least 40 engine staff (per shift) on duty at all times in Red Deer. Basically whatever we have it should be at least 25% more. So, 194 firefighters should be 243 fire/medics (if possible all).

As a resident in Station 2’s coverage area, I do not agree with the explanation that ‘Station 2’s proximity to other stations allows for staffing adjustments without compromising service,’ as stated by Fire Chief Curtis Schaefer and Deputy Chief Schaefer. The reality for residents here tells a different story. While Council may defer to the Fire Chiefs on staffing matters, the impact on our community is real and cannot be overlooked.

The City of Red Deer’s Emergency Services department maintains records of EMS calls and service statistics. Specific EMS call records are typically accessed through Alberta Health Services’ Access & Disclosure team. I also question whether they track statistical data, particularly as part of our budget contributions for EMS services, especially with dynamic staffing models now being adopted in other communities.

Dynamic staffing is gaining traction in Canada, with Alberta leading the way. I doubt Council has received—or taken the time to review—all relevant information. Balancing a full-time job, family, and other responsibilities makes it difficult for representatives to fully serve the City. In my view, government officials should focus solely on their public duties while in office.

Dynamic staffing for fire-medics could be effective if all stations were adequately staffed. However, that isn’t the case in Red Deer, and reducing personnel on an already stretched service is, as I’ve stated before, irresponsible.

When speaking with a member of the Red Deer Firefighters, I highlighted what I call “red light syndrome” (edit: I might have called it 'stop light syndrome' or 'stop sign syndrome' as well, usual I tailor the example to the environment, small village vs city) —action often only occurs after a tragedy. This must not happen in our city; emergency services require proactive preparation for the worst-case scenarios.

Discussion in this video references “snowstorms,” but emergencies could occur in many contexts—such as high-rise towers like Capstone or older multi-family buildings catching fire. Even worse and rarely ever considered, many of the older complexes are not fully accessible to emergency vehicles.

Building codes in Red Deer are often grandfathered, as is the case with my 1960s apartment complex. Fire extinguishers are behind ‘fire doors’ in hallways, alongside fire alarms, with directional signage guiding residents 20 meters toward the front door instead of just 5 meters to the back. Many multi-family buildings are poorly constructed and have been described as “tinder boxes” or "ovens".

I have also expressed that probationary firefighters should start at a more competitive salary. While I was reminded that $105,000* reflects the pay of a first-class firefighter, starting salaries of only $55,000* limit the City’s ability to attract and hire sufficient staff.

Currently, our coverage response time is 7.7 minutes by coverage mapping estimates, but it should be 5–6 minutes. As Red Deer continues to grow, planning for 6–7 fire stations—not just five—is essential, particularly in newly developing areas such as Capstone.
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Remember, effective communication involves listening as well as speaking.