HEPBURN Shire Council wants a ruling on whether a new firefighting vehicle could be funded under fire memorial guidelines.The shire was allocated nearly $80,000 this year in fire memorial funding, and council hopes to use this to acquire an extra tanker as a "mobile" memorial.Council has received a petition with 658 signatures calling for the memorial funds to be allocated towards a new tanker for the Daylesford Country Fire Authority.But in a report to council last week, the authority and the Department of Planning and Community Development, which administers the fund, said a tanker would fall outside the guidelines.State Government spokesman Dan Ward said this particular grant program was not designed to be used this way.It is a matter for the CFA to decide as to whether the Hepburn CFA is in need of more resources in addition to the 4WD emergency vehicle handed over last year," Mr Ward said.At its meeting, council resolved to assess eligibility for the units through the Victorian Bushfire Recovery and Reconstruction Authority.An authority spokeswoman yesterday said it was working with the shire and others to establish funding for other bushfire-related initiatives they might be seeking."Where it's indicated, we're happy to work with the CFA and other funding sources to assist the community to get funding for a tanker," she said.Shire Mayor Bill McClenaghan said there was strong support for a firefighting vehicle as a mobile memorial."We want formal clarification as to why such a proposal would not qualify for the funding," Cr McClenaghan said.
Memorial' ruling sought
