By Chad Klassen

Small TNRD communities to vote on fire protection services

Jun 20, 2018 | 6:20 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Thompson-Nicola Regional District is changing its funding plan for fire protection for communities within its jurisdiction. 

Referendums will be held on saturday in Loon Lake, McLure, and South Green Lake to determine whether those communities will go ahead with TNRD-administered fire protection.

Under the plan, the regional district would provide $150,000 in funding every year for fire protection in each community as it is currently. But the cost to the taxpayers would vary from residence to residence based on the assessed value of each property. The TNRD says it would also have more control over the operations of each fire department.

“Right now, we’re involved on collecting taxes on behalf of these societies, but due to some changing legislation that’s been happening these societies are facing the challenge of not being able to have financial backing with things like training administrative staff, replacing equipment, liability to property,” said TNRD information officer Michelle Nordstrom. 

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“So what it would look like if the TNRD would be administering it, we would just handle the liability, the administration and the financial side of things, and those societies and volunteer fire department would operate the way they operate.”

Tobiano and Little Fort will be submitting petitions on the changes, which require an approval by at least 50 per cent. If communities don’t go ahead with the new fire protection system, they will stop receiving regional district funding by December 31, 2022.

“If the TNRD wasn’t voted on to administer these protection services, then it would fall onto the responsibility of those societies to be gathering taxes and raising the money,” said Nordstrom.