Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Cariboo RD decides on Nov 24th question on Rural Fire Protection

Courtesy of the Cariboo Regional District:

Editor's Note - if all questions are defeated against the City of Williams Lake Fire Department, this will of course have financial implications for 2013 for Williams Lake and I'm certain Williams Lake City Council will be watching the final result of the Nov 24th Cariboo RD referendum very closely...

Cariboo Regional District residents in the fringe areas of Williams Lake will be heading to the polls on Saturday, November 24 to decide their future fire protection services. Residents within Electoral Area D, E and F will be participating in two separate referendums.

Based on the results of the survey which was distributed at the CRD Fire Protection meeting on the evening of Sept. 12, residents of Area D, E and a portion of the fringe area of Electoral Area F will be deciding if they wish to continue having their service provided by the City of Williams Lake Volunteer Fire Department (VFD). If this referendum is successful, affected residents would be paying up to $140 per $100,000 of residential assessment. If the vote is defeated, residents will no longer have fire protection effective January 1, 2013.

For residents in portions of Area F, which are within the 13-kilometre service area of the 150 Mile House Volunteer Fire Department (VFD), the referendum question will ask if residents wish to have their service provided by the 150 Mile House Volunteer Fire Department. If this referendum is successful, affected residents would pay approximately $68 per $100,000 of residential assessment. Again, if this vote is defeated, residents within this fire protection boundary will no longer have fire protection effective January 1, 2013.

“Residents and business owners who contacted me were overwhelmingly in support of receiving service from the 150 Mile Fire Department,” says Area F Director, Joan Sorley.

“Based on this feedback, and because I believe we have an obligation to offer our taxpayers the best value possible, I have decided to ask the Board to approve a referendum bylaw which will expand the boundaries of the 150 Mile VFD to include those properties which are included within 13-km of its fire hall.”

If residents have any questions about the Williams Lake Fringe Fire Protection Service referendum, contact the following:

Area D – Alternate Director G. W. (Bill) Carruthers
(250) 392-6763 or via email at bcarruthers@caribouroads.com

Area E – Director Byron Kemp
(250) 392-5037 or via email at bkemp@cariboord.bc.ca

Area F – Director Joan Sorley
(250) 243-2261 or via email at jsorley@cariboord.bc.ca

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