Forest Grove to vote on loan options for fire tender truck

Courtesy of the Cariboo Regional District:

Voters in the Forest Grove fire protection service area are being given a choice over how long funding will be borrowed to purchase a new fire tender for their fire department. The Regional District will be borrowing up to $600,000 to make this purchase, and is asking voters in the service area for approval to extend the borrowing over a ten-year period. An interactive map is available on the regional district’s website with fire protection area boundaries.

Resident and Non-Resident Property Electors will have an opportunity to make their opinion count by casting their vote at one of three voting opportunities or by a mail ballot. Residents can vote in-person :

• July 31, 2024 at the South Cariboo Recreation Centre, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.;
• August 6, 2024 at the Forest Grove Community Hall, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and
• August 10, 2024 at the Forest Grove Community Hall, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

A public information meeting will also be held on July 12, 2024 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Forest Grove Community Hall. Cariboo Regional District Board Chair and Electoral Area H Director Margo Wagner will be hosting the meeting, which will provide residents of the area with an opportunity to learn more about the referendum, connect with Forest Grove VFD Fire Chief Michelle Meeker and MLA Lorne Doerkson, and learn more about the Cariboo Regional District’s services.  A fundraising barbecue will also be held for the Forest Grove VFD Ladies’ Auxiliary, and door prizes will be available for those in attendance.

If the borrowing is approved by voters, residents can expect property taxes to increase by up to $32.38 per $100,000 of the net taxable value of improvements in the fire protection area, representing a 27.5% increase. The total increase depends on whether future assessment values in the service area increase or decrease; however, the portion of taxes levied to repay the loan will be the same. The current 2024 residential tax rate for the Forest Grove Fire Protection Area is $117.66 per $100,000.

However, if a majority of the votes are against the ten-year borrowing option, the Volunteer Fire Department is still required to purchase a new fire tender. In that case, the same amount of funds would need to be borrowed over a much shorter five-year period, which does not require voter approval. Residential property taxes would need to increase by $57.00 per $100,000 assessed value in this case, a 48.4% increase in annual taxation.

Mail ballots can be requested from the Chief Election Officer beginning on July 8, 2024, and can be requested up until August 8, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. Mail ballots must be packaged according to the instructions contained in each ballot package to ensure that your vote remains secret, otherwise the ballot will be rejected. Completed mail ballots must be received by the Chief Election Officer by 4:00 p.m. on August 9, 2024 at either the 100 Mile House or Williams Lake office, or deposited with the Chief Election Officer at the Forest Grove Community Hall by 8:00 p.m. on General Voting Day. More information about voter eligibility and the proposal can be found on the CRD’s website at www.cariboord.ca/ForestGrove-fire-truck.