Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: July 06, 2010 7:00 PM
Phone operators in Chilliwack could soon be directing North Okanagan firefighters to blazes. The North Okanagan Regional District board will consider a staff recommendation today that the Fraser Valley Regional District be contracted for fire dispatch services in communities outside of Vernon Jan. 1. “In this age of technology, you do not need a person who grew up here to pinpoint the location of a fire,” said Mike Macnabb, BX-Silver Star director. The issue of fire dispatch arose when the City of Vernon decided to leave the regional function and provide its own service.
A request for proposal for fire dispatch service was issued to eight potential providers, including the City of Vernon. As of the May 31 closing date, only four proposals were received — Surrey, Fraser Valley, Kamloops and Kelowna. Vernon did not submit a bid, but indicated that as the current contractor under the regional function, it was willing to provide the service in the future. “We had already offered the service for the price they received now,” said Mayor Wayne Lippert. “We didn’t see a need to go through the process of a full proposal call.” Lippert is disappointed that NORD staff have not recommended the city, and he says he may have to have a discussion with his counterparts at the regional table and see if a different direction can be taken. He insists that the Vernon-based dispatchers provide a cost-effective service and have extensive knowledge of the North Okanagan. “In talking to some of the fire chiefs, they’d like to keep it local.”
Macnabb says NORD was forced to consider its options after the city decided to go it alone. “We were left flat-footed when Vernon withdrew from the service,” he said. “The service Vernon is moving to is tailored for an urban environment and their needs aren’t necessarily our needs.” A staff report suggests that a Fraser Valley fire dispatch service would result in savings of about $46,000 annually compared to the current budget and $83,688 compared to the Vernon model.
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Don Quixote Note: The staff recommendation can be found at Agenda Package PDF (2.94MB)
1 comment:
Oops. seems Vernon has been caught out. Maybe this new age will usher in an era where game-playing and parochialism finally fall by the wayside and taxpayers can benefit from better and more cost-effective service delivery.
Whooohoooo, how long is it going to be before India bids on providing these functions.
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