Ajax removes firefighter application fees after CityNews report
Posted January 25, 2022 12:14 pm.
Last Updated January 25, 2022 3:41 pm.
In a vote of 5-2, the town council of Ajax has defeated a motion to continue charging a fee to people applying to be firefighters.
CityNews was the first to tell you about this issue in a Speakers Corner report aired last week. In our report, we discovered the fees being charged were done so without prior approval from the council.
The $100+HST non-refundable fee, which was charged to all people applying to two open fire fighting positions, was not previously approved by the council in the town’s fees by-law. A move that has to be made before a municipality can charge such fees.
After CityNews presented the issue to a town spokesperson, the council added the item to this week’s agenda allowing Councillors to vote on it.
On Monday night, it was not approved. Councillor Sterling Lee and Mayor Shaun Collier were the only two to vote in favour of keeping the fee.
When asked by Councillors why the fee was being charged without proper approval, Chief Administrative Officer Shane Baker said it was an oversight.
During the meeting, Baker said all candidates who already paid the fees will be reimbursed.
Baker was asked by Councillors why the town was charging the fee only to firefighters, as no other open town positions have an application charge. He said firefighter job postings get a flood of applications. The fee pays for administrative work associated with vetting and screening those applications as well as future testing for candidates who are selected.
The town has already received hundreds of applications for the two open positions, and the town is proposing to hire several more if and when a fire master plan is approved. The money collected in fees would have helped offset present and future costs in screening applicants.
