Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: August 12, 2010 6:00 PM
There are demands that Vernon go it alone on two functions. Coun. Jack Gilroy told his colleagues Monday that the city should get out of the North Okanagan Regional District’s Jaws of Life and fire training centre programs. “We’ve been asked by NORD to come up with functions we want to get out of,” he said. “It doesn’t work well with NORD. There’s too much bureaucracy.” City firefighters use the training centre about 16 times a year, and Gilroy says Vernon would be better off to rent the facility instead of paying $100,000 a year into the service and then a user-fee on top of that. “Since NORD took it over, they have screwed it up,” he said. “Every time we send a body there, it costs money.”
However, the rest of council was not willing to consider leaving the functions until a staff review is conducted. “Before I make a decision, I’d like some analysis done on the costs and the potential consequences for taxpayers,” said Coun. Buffy Baumbrough. Coun. Patrick Nicol defends the fire training centre and believes the city should remain involved directly. “It’s been a real asset as established by the city,” he said. Nicol suggests Gilroy’s actions are linked to an ongoing dispute between Vernon and NORD over fire dispatch. “This is a knee-jerk reaction to recent events and that is a bad way to do policy,” he said.
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