Vernon City Council has advised the North Okanagan Regional District that it will withdraw from the Fire Training Service as of December 31st, 2008. Reasons cited for the decision were communicated to NORD on March 31st, 2008, almost 1 year after the City first asked the NORD committee for a “fair and equitable solution” to the Fire Service Training costs of all the jurisdictions.
Originally requesting a Service Review from N.O.R.D. in April of 2007, the City asked the other jurisdictions to consider making some changes to the fee structure for fire fighter training services and come back to the table with some fair and equitable solutions for all parties. To date, N.O.R.D. has rejected changes and directed Vernon to find its own solution. A major concern to Council was the disproportionate share of the cost of training, when compared to other jurisdictions and the lack of service it receives in relation to those costs. For instance over 6 training sessions were canceled in a four week period this past year.
In clarifying Council’s decision to withdraw from the service, Mayor Lippert noted, “We’ve reached a point in our population and size of firefighting staff where we can provide this service to Vernon taxpayers more cost effectively on our own. In fact, it may be that other issues could arise from the service reviews that the City will have to address in the near future. It is important to realize that the citizens of Vernon have been subsidizing the other jurisdictions within NORD for some time now, and we will continue to work to reduce the gross inequities of these current formulas to reduce the burden to our taxpayers. “
In clarifying the actual fire training service costs, Councilor Barry Beardsell noted that, “In 2007, the total cost of all requisitions and fees was $212,300, of which $116,762 was charged to the City of Vernon. Based on the existing formula (apportioned to land and improvements), and given Vernon’s growth rate, it can be expected that our costs will rise disproportionately to the other jurisdictions.”
The current formula establishes the per/firefighter training costs in the City of Vernon based on 75 firefighters at $1,556.83 per firefighter. There are 270 firefighters within the region with access to the service. If the total of 270 firefighters were averaged against the total requisition and fees of $212,300., the per/firefighter cost would have been $786.30 to all jurisdictions. Therefore, it can be shown that the present training cost to Vernon is nearly 200% more than it should be.
The City of Vernon expects to be in a position to provide training to its own firefighters at a reduced cost, and may consider offering those training services to other interested parties.
Beardsell added, “I believe that Council has been more than effective in making this decision. It is, after all, our primary responsibility, and I know that we have given this issue more than due consideration. Council spent a good deal of time discussing alternatives, but in the end took the responsible direction. Tax dollars have to be spent wisely, and it’s our job to see that they are!”
For information, please contact Liz Williams, Media Liaison (250) 550-3539.
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