Central Otago District Council chief executive Phil Melhopt, who is driving the proposal to amalgamate the region's rural fire authorities, attended the final full meeting of the present QLDC in Wanaka to discuss the proposal.
QLDC principal rural fire officer Gordon Bailey has recommended the council support an enlarged rural fire district and approve a three-year funding commitment to the entity based on the forecast of operating expenses and existing contribution ratios.
Cr Mel Gazzard and Mayor Vanessa van Uden expressed concern about the increased operating costs of the entity for the first year, which are forecast to be $240,000 higher than the combined funding rural fire authorities can release from existing budgets.
Ms van Uden suggested funding be approved for three years, but not at the level proposed until after a full financial review had been carried out at the completion of the first year of operation.
''One of my discomforts was the allocation model for those additional costs ... we ended up paying marginally a bigger cost [than other rural fire authorities in the region],'' Ms van Uden said.
Mr Melhopt said it was likely some of the higher costs allocated to the QLDC would drop away in the future.
