Residents of the Forest Grove Fire Protection Service Area have voted to borrow $600,000 over the next 10 years to pay for a new fire tender.
A total of 42 ballots were cast in the referendum with 34 people people being in favour of the borrowing plan and eight opposed. Residents had three opportunities to cast their ballots including on July 21 at the South Cariboo Rec Centre and Aug. 6 and Aug. 10 at the Forest Grove Community Hall. Mail in ballots were also available.
With this approval in hand, the Cariboo Regional District will now borrow the money to purchase the new fire tender for the Forest Grove Volunteer Fire Department.
“I am pleased with the result of the referendum for the purchase of a tender fire truck for Forest Grove VFD,” Margo Wagner, the CRD's director for Forest Grove and its board chair, said. “This result has the least impact on taxes for those in the fire protection area.”
The residential tax rate will increase over the next 10 years from $117.66 per $100,000 up to $150.04 per $100,000 of assessed improvement values. These changes will begin in 2025, which is the same year the CRD anticipates the new fire tender being delivered.
This tender will replace the department's current tender, a 1997 International Fire Tender that is beyond its permitted service life. Because the truck no longer meets the fire protection standards set by the Fire Underwriters Survey, costs and discounts to home insurance would be impacted if not replaced.
The CRD noted that a second replacement for a fire pumper engine will also need to take place sometime between 2026 and 2031.
Had the motion not passed the Cariboo Regional District would have still borrowed the money but paid it back over five years. This would have meant residential property taxes would have increased by $57 per $100,000 of assessed value or a 48.4 per cent increase in annual taxation for fire services.
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