It's the latest salvo in an increasingly uneasy relationship between the city of Vernon and the North Okanagan Regional District. The city has pulled out of a fire dispatch agreement, living the District to figure out a dispatch plan of its own. Vernon Mayor Wayne Lippert says the city needs to upgrade its dispatch services, and since N.O.R.D. doesn’t want to help foot the $180,000 dollar bill, its pulled out of their partnership. That leaves N.O.R.D searching for a new provider, and Board Director Herman Halvorson says they are currently negotiating an agreement with a fire dispatch centre in the Fraser Valley. He believes they can save taxpayers almost $50,000, while providing adequate dispatch service to the rural areas surrounding Vernon. In the meantime, the city says it will continue to provide dispatch service to areas covered by N.O.R.D, while they work out a new arrangement. It’s a sign of the growing tensions between the two sides. Mayor Lippert believes N.O.R.D Directors didn’t think things through before making the decision. While Halvorson acknowledges that the relationship between the two sides is “dicey”.
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