Billing owners of vacant Winnipeg buildings for fire responses may have backfired, report says

An effort to crack down on vacant building owners in Winnipeg by billing them for the cost of sending fire crews to battle blazes at their properties may have done more harm than good, according to a new city report.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service says it issued $1.15 million worth of fees to the owners of 43 properties last year, but less than $79,000 has been paid, with three property owners paid in full and two in the process of making payments.

Rather than recovering the costs of firefighting, city staff have had to dedicate significant resources to dealing with reviews and complaints from property owners.

"To date the fees have not reduced vacant building fire occurrences and, in some cases, had negative impacts by discouraging further action on building renovations potentially leading to repeat fires," Lisa Gilmour, assistant chief of community risk reduction, wrote in the report.

Under rules that came into effect in March 2023, the city can assess fees based on the number of fire trucks and other equipment responding to a fire at a vacant building. The average fee per property is $26,000, with the highest bill for $138,000.

In the new report, city staff recommend lowering fees, in the hope more owners will pay up.

The new fee schedule would start at $5,000 for the first fire, climbingto $20,000 for afourth or subsequent fire.

Mayor Scott Gillingham says he's open to changes.

"The goal is to get the result we need," he told reporters on Wednesday. "And the result we need is fewer vacant and derelict properties, and those properties turned into developed properties."

City looks 'weak': neighbourhood association

The city's fire service stopped issuing new fees in December, after hearing complaints from property owners.

Under the proposed changes, owners who received bills in 2023 would be given the choice to opt into the new fee system, in which case their fees will be adjusted according to what they would have received under the new rules.

The city expects to write off about $900,000 worth of fees issued last year, the report says.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Chief Christian Schmidt says in some cases, owners of vacant properties were in the midst of making repairs when a repeat fire occurred.

"We want to be cognizant of that, and we don't want to be contributing to some of the problems. We want to be helping to resolve some of the issues in the city," he told reporters.

The neighbourhoods with the most properties billed in 2023 were William Whyte (six), Dufferin (five), Spence (four) andSt. Matthews (three). The Centennial, North Point Douglas, Talbot-Grey and West Broadway neighbourhoods each had two.

William Whyte Neighbourhood Association president Darrell Warren told CBC News he doesn't support lowering the fees.

"To the people in the neighborhood, they would probably see the city as being weak [and] backing down from these guys," he said.

Warren says he has counted about 60 fires in his neighbourhood so far this year.

Last year, the city recorded 156 fires in vacant buildings, the highest on record. As of June 30 this year, there were 106.

The new city report also recommends introducing a process to waive fees for property owners in some circumstances, including owners experiencing a first fire at their property since the fees came into effect. Theywould become eligible for a waived fee again after five years without a fire.

Consideration would also be given to whether the owner is a not-for-profit, registered charity or has a record of developing affordable housing. Owners who "demonstrate commitment to complying with the Vacant Buildings Bylaw" or to improving their propertywould also be considered.

The executive policy committee will debate the proposed changes next week.

One member of the mayor's inner circle told reporters it's clear the current system isn't working, but said he may push for higher fees than what the public service is recommending.

"We need to pivot and potentially change our approach," said Coun. Evan Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood).

"It's not a softer approach. We're still gonna have a tough as nails approach."

WATCH|Dealing with the cost of vacant building fires:

Dealing with the cost of vacant building fires

6 days ago

Duration 2:15

The City of Winnipeg's latest effort to keep up with vacant building fires does not appear to be working, according to a new city report. Last year, officials started billing property owners for the costs of sending fire crews to fires in their buildings. The city issued a total of $1.15 million worth of fees, but has collected only a fraction of that.