Residents who fail to heed future flood evacuation warnings could face a financial penalty if the town is forced to put emergency workers at risk to rescue them, says Huntsville Mayor Claude Doughty.

Doughty floated the idea last week during a meeting in Bracebridge recapping Muskoka’s response to localized flooding.

Imposing a fine, he said, could deter residents from staying behind in their homes after a flood warning has been issued for their area.

When the Big East River flooded its banks in January, approximately 200 homeowners were told to evacuate their homes. Approximately 16 residents decided to stay behind, and later had to be rescued by boat by the Huntsville Fire Department.

While the town cannot force individuals to leave their homes during flood conditions, Doughty said it is brainstorming ways to discourage any repeat of January’s incidents.

“They decided with their own bravado to put people at risk. . . . That’s something that should have a commensurate fee attached to it,” said the mayor Friday. “Even if it was $100, it could be something to make people realize ‘I need to go’.”

According to Huntsville fire chief Stephen Hernen, at least one firefighter sustained a back injury during the evacuation and later had to take time off work. Others, however, were put in dangerous situations that did not have to occur, he noted.

While Hernen said he would leave the decision on a fine to local politicians, he said he believes the province should give OPP the authority to remove people during critical emergency situations, such as the one experienced by Huntsville earlier this year.

“I think there needs to be some provincial legislation, somewhere,” said Hernen. “There comes a point when I can’t tell you any more. I can tell you over and over again to get out of the middle of the road because a car is coming, but some people just don’t learn until they get hit.”

Doughty said a policy on fining residents who refuse to heed flood warnings has not been formally discussed by council or any town committee and no plans are in place to move it forward.

He said it is unclear if the idea will move beyond the discussion stage because it could be “a double-edged sword.”

“The counter argument is, if they made one bad decision to stay there, maybe they’ll make a second bad decision not to call you in because they want to save the money,” Doughty said. “And we don’t want that. So it’s a bit of a conundrum.”

If there was public and council support for a policy on flood warnings, it would likely have to be raised by the town’s bylaw committee, he said.