By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star - April 11, 2008
A key partner may not necessarily abandon the North Okanagan’s fire training function. The City of Vernon has notified the North Okanagan Regional District that it will withdraw from the fire training program Dec. 31. But some city officials say that situation may be avoided if compromises can be found. “It doesn’t mean the end of it. There is certainly room for discussion,” said Coun. Buffy Baumbrough during Wednesday’s NORD meeting.A similar statement was also made by Coun. Pat Cochrane. “I fully support having a committee that looks at this issue,” he said. In a letter to NORD, the city cited numerous reasons for wanting to withdraw from the training centre.They included a schedule that didn’t meet the needs of professional firefighters, the amount of service the city gets from the training centre manager because of his other duties and the view that the city pays a disproportionate share of the cost relative to its voting strength at the board.
“We believe we can deliver the service to our constituents at a better rate,” said Coun. Juliette Cunningham. Many directors insisted Wednesday that the city didn’t need to formally apply to withdraw from the function. “Why not say, ‘Let’s see if we can make this function work instead of taking our marbles and going home,’” said Earl Shipmaker, Enderby director, who believes such talks could benefit all communities financially. “If Vernon can operate it more effectively, let’s look at it now.” While the city’s withdrawal notice has triggered a legislated process, chairman Jerry Oglow is hopeful that all participants in the function can find a solution on their own. “There seems to be an appetite to go back to the table and revise the issues they’ve raised and see if there is any room for compromise,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment