REGIONAL DIRECTOR NEWS:

 

Grants-in-aid: 2nd intake - Allocating grant funds isn’t as easy as it might seem. There are always more good applications than funds, and the amount of available qRD grant funds are purposefully limited to moderate taxes. Most of the grants were awarded in the 1st intake in late spring. In the 2nd intake, general and non-Lasqueti local grants were allocated to the Orca Bus, Four Tides Hospice Society, the qathet Film Society, the Powell River Skating Club, the Association of Savary Island Committee and the Texada Health Services Society.

Local Electoral Area E (Lasqueti) grants were awarded to the LCA Food Bank and LIAS.

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The 2025 budget is a-comin': The first draft of the 2025 budget is on the December 4 Finance Committee agenda. There will be many changes as the budget goes through 3 or more drafts.

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LIVFD asset management proposals: The Dec 4 Finance Committee agenda includes asset management proposals for all regional volunteer fire departments, including the following for LIVFD:

• allocate funding from the Community Works Funds, LIVFD reserves and borrowing to replace the existing aging fire engine and water tender in 2026 and 2027 with new or used vehicles. Recent changes by the Province allow Community Works Funds to be used for fire halls and apparatus. Also, any borrowing with a term longer than 5 years requires approval by the electors.

• reducing the number of apparatus by one to reduce maintenance and replacement costs.

• increase contributions to LIVFD reserves via taxes to save towards replacement of fire apparatus and fire halls as part of the general asset management process used by the qRD. Fire halls eventually need replacement, and are expensive. Timing of replacement is not yet on the horizon, but initiating discussions may help the community and qRD develop acceptable plans.

  

According to expected asset life cycles, annualized depreciation costs are about $32,500/year for the fire halls, and about $57,600/year for the apparatus. These would be the long-term average levels that should be saved for asset replacement, but the amount reserved over the past decades has been significantly less to limit tax increases (which have been substantial for other aspects of the service).
   

While the underlying issues are not new, I only became aware of these proposals when the December Finance Committee agenda was released. Expect more info and an announcement for a public meeting after the Dec Finance Committee meeting.

   

Please feel free to contact me. I am honoured to be your regional representative.
Director Andrew Fall, qathet Regional District
Contact: Tel: 250-333-8595