During Thursday’s ordinary meeting, councillors voted to carry out the project in collaboration with the RFS and SES, providing there was funding from both organisations and funds available during the council’s 2015/16 budget process.

Executive projects manager, John Carleton, presented the motion during the meeting and said as part of the council’s delivery program and operational plan it was their responsibility to provide support to emergency service agencies.

“At the moment the SES and RFS are situated at separate locations. The SES is situated at the regional airport but because of the Gateway project they’re partly located at the Tycannah Street depot. The RFS’ building is also situated at Tycannah Street,” he said.

Mr Carleton said both organisations had to be relocated, and together with the general manager, David Aber, it was decided it would make more sense to relocate both to the same place.

“The organisations will be co-located at the Moree Gateway on block 18. The block is flood-free and has easy access. Being together will see more efficient emergency services in Moree; able to deal with natural disasters,” he said.

RFS representative Angela Daly said the council’s contribution to the Joint Emergency Management Centre would be the land, estimated to be worth around $3 million.

 “The RFS already has $62,000 allocated in the council’s 2014/15 budget which will go towards the project but we are also trying to seek funding internally through the state headquarters of the RFS,” Ms Daly said.

Cr Tramby decided to speak against the motion.

“We have more fires in our shire than Gwydir and Narrabri put together. Narrabri has 44 trucks and Gwydir shire has 43… We have 38. We have less trucks and more fires.

“We’ve been struggling for years to get more fire trucks and now we’re going to go ahead and spend all this money on a facility that will barely be used. Please record my vote against this motion,” he said.

All councillors, except Cr Tramby, voted for the Joint Emergency Management Centre concept to be taken to the next budgetary meeting.

“We need to move both of these emergency services, we have to build something somewhere and it just makes sense to put the two together. Without the RFS and SES funding support we will simply not be able to build this on our own, we simply cannot,” Councillor, Sue Price said.

“This will attract volunteers and we need good facilities for our volunteers. I think Cr Tramby is saying, ‘what’s the point in having volunteers if there is less equipment?’  but I think we need more volunteers than more equipment,” she said.