Full-time Dallas fire hall, new city security model highlight 2025 City of Kamloops supplemental budget requests

Not every supplemental item will be funded through taxation, though if all of the items are approved as presented, 3.082 per cent will be added to the provisional tax rate of 7.49 per cent, for a potential increase of 10.572 per cent in 2025.

City staff say a one per cent tax increase equates to approximately $1,490,000 in additional revenue and approximately $25.00 on the average property tax impact.

NEW – Here is the first look at the 2025 supplemental budget in the City of #Kamloops.

If everything is approved as presented, it'll add 3.082 per cent to the provisional tax rate of 7.49 per cent, for a potential increase of 10.572 per cent in 2025. pic.twitter.com/OB9ZlMNMgj

— Victor Kaisar (@supermario_47) February 7, 2025

Changes proposed at KFR Station 6

The item that will have the biggest impact on the 2025 tax rate, if approved, is connected to staffing at the Dallas/Barnhartvale Fire Station No. 6. It is currently one of two paid on-call stations in Kamloops, with the other one located in Rayleigh.

“When an event requires a response, these firefighters go to the station and wait for the required number of staff before responding,” the staff report said. “This request is looking to begin the work of migrating the existing facility to a fully staffed professional fire station with all the necessary skills and equipment.”

“This will significantly improve Kamloops Fire Rescue’s (KFR) response in the eastern portions of the city and provide increased resources to support operations in the city.”

A similar move to full-time firefighters was completed at Fire Station No. 4 in Westsyde in 2023.

A business case for the proposal states that the Dallas/Barnhartvale fire hall will transition to a full-time facility with 20 firefighters over the next three years. It will come with a capital investment of between $15 million and $25 million to build a new station and $2.4 million for an engine and water tender.

Operating costs are pegged at $1.32 million in year two, rising to $3.1 million in year three, for the wages and materials required for the 20 firefighters to fully staff the station 24/7.

“Once the design has been completed, final construction costs will be brought to council for approval,” the business case said.

New Protective Services Training Centre

Also included in the supplemental budget is a Protective Services Training Centre adjacent to the existing KFR fire training centre. According to the staff report, the existing training centre on Bunker Road “has limitations, making it difficult to qualify trainees with the mandatory BC Structure Firefighter Minimum Training Standards.”

“Kamloops Fire Rescue currently sends staff out of town to complete specialized training,” the report said. “An expanded multi-agency training centre is proposed that includes props, a shooting range, classroom expansion, a gymnasium, a scenario warehouse, and supporting infrastructure.”

“The training centre would provide expanded scope and cost-sharing avenues between Kamloops Fire Rescue, the RCMP, and Community Services.”

While the proposal will see the addition of one full-time equivalent position to manage the facility’s “extensive scheduling” needs at a cost of $96,000 a year, staff also say the additional revenue generated will help offset capital and operating costs.

New CCTV operations centre

There is also a provision for a new Corporate Security Model which would include the establishment of a new operations centre to “provide a more holistic public safety initiative throughout the city.”

“The intent of this operations centre would be to monitor all city-owned cameras and infrastructure that have network-based cameras so that when an incident occurs, there is a centralized location where footage can be obtained,” a business case said.

“All future CCTV installations will be network-based and can be fed into the operations centre, with a year-over-year replacement plan for older systems to meet a standardized network-based system.”

That business case also detailed plans to add new cameras in public, a plan which has the support of the Kamloops Central and the North Shore Business Improvement Associations.

“CCTV will be placed on civic infrastructure in public areas,” the business case said. “The Corporate Services Department, the Civic Operations Department, the Protective Services Department, and the RCMP will be consulted on the placement.”

“Additional considerations around the functionality of a system like this are being made regarding assistance in parking management, snow accumulations, and areas that would best protect civic infrastructure.”

Public Budget Meeting set for Feb. 13

Two other big ticket items in the supplemental budget — an extra $8.3 million for planned upgrades to Schubert Drive and an extra $5.8 million for planned work along River Street — do not currently have a recommended source of funding.

Both those proposals were endorsed by the city’s Livability and Sustainability Committee at its Jan. 30 meeting, which voted to add the two items to this year’s supplemental budget.

All of the supplemental budget items will go before Tuesday’s (Feb. 11) Committee of the Whole meeting, though councillors aren’t expected to make a decision then.

Kamloops residents will be able to have their say into the supplemental budget at a meeting on Feb. 13 at McArthur Island.

“The Committee of the Whole will be asked to provide direction related to each supplemental budget item for the 2025 budget and 2025–2029 Five-Year Financial Plan at the March 11 Committee of the Whole meeting,” the staff report said.

“It is the final step in the overall budget development process along with feedback provided by the public through the Let’s Talk engagement site.”

Kamloops city council will then set its final tax rate in the spring, with property taxes typically due in early July.

For more on the 2025 City of Kamloops budget, go here.

by Victor Kaisar