Traveled the site and located the meeting rooms and convention rooms.
Attended the fire Risk Reduction Initiative and Fire Safety Act overview.
Questions and comments were:
Effect of new fire code inspection and regulations on local budgets.
Effect on small businesses in rural areas
Effect on heritage buildings and associated businesses.
Timing out of fire apparatus as opposed to being assessed for condition and suitability for fire service.
Effect of fire halls being classed as Post Disaster Relief buildings and the unnecessary added cost of that code on small catchment fire hall construction.
Will the province start paying into medical first response calls as they are augmenting paid for service paramedic ambulance calls?
Will ICBC start paying for motor vehicle calls as other responders are or as out of province cars are covered by their insurance?
The Fire Commissioner’s office and Fire Underwriters Service need to start considering the much lower incomes and revenue stream for rural areas.
That started off the week and the following is a synopsis of the ministers meeting and meetings with the Official Opposition.
1. B.C. assessment authority meeting on property tax inequity (the adverse effect of extreme wealth on rural area property taxes). No power to change but very good direction suggested at
looking to section 19-8 for a similar legislative change. This section gives developers a considerable break on development property tax. It was suggested that this could be brought into use for those who have long term ownership of a property as a family home.
2. Minister of agriculture and ALC on need for farm equity with food farms. Luke warm response from ALC. Pronounced reluctance to grant same privileges to small food farms.
3. Meeting ministry of Forests Parliamentary secretary and assoc. on the delay on the license of occupation for the river dyke hike and bike. A four year wait so far. The Okanagan representative took interest in this and we will be looking into the delay.
4. Meeting with the ministry of finance on Property taxes and extreme wealth on local property taxes. Extreme wealth is causing an artificial large increase in property assessments and as rural areas are not a taxing authority large property tax increases on those who can least afford this. It seemed to be sympathy but insincere. Seem stuck on the tax windfall even though it is from those who least can afford it. There was a reaction section 19-8 which allows developers a much lower property tax until project completion.
1. Ministry of Municipal Affairs, to see that we can undertake secondary housing on properties less
than one hectare. Currently this is allowed only if the property is serviced by a municipal sewer
service. This was done to protect water ways where building is concentrated. The current
regulation will allow for a second suite in the existing house though and this load is then put on
older non inspected septic systems. Since the development of this regulation the design of
septic systems has become more sophisticated and inspection services for these systems are
now common. The thought is that secondary houses on some of these properties could through
septic inspection be safely be service by the same septic systems or even allow for the
implementation of a second service. This would also open the door to septic system inspections
and would help correct the issue of failing septic systems fouling water ways. There is no
intention to allow the subdivision of these properties. In fairness this would be a difficult
regulation to formulate and would have a small effect on the affordable housing needs. It is
hoped that proposing these changes will slow the current government from forcing us to
subsidize affordable market housing which would substantially increase property taxation.
2. The second topic for this ministry was from OK Falls for more infrastructure support to expand the existing sewer service through the area. The cost for expanding through what is the area
under incorporation study is considerable for this lower income area. Overall I was for the most part disappointed with the direction of this government. There seems to
be little concern for the financial plight of the mid to low income population. It is to be seen if I am wrong about the choice for solutions adding considerable weight to the tax payer. I truly hope I am wrong.
Meeting with the leader of the official opposition:
1. Need for equity in farming. Substantial advantages are granted the vineyard winery industrythat are not given to our food farmers. This was immediately understood and accepted as having been well noticed and of considerable concern to the survival of our small farms, food security and diversity of crops.
2. The need for property tax reform this was also understood but will have to work on the solution but 19-8 was considered the most effective route to correct the problem.
3. The one hectare minimum auxiliary building lot size. This was the most difficult to present but brought up that including septic inspection and up grading as a motivator would remove the
major concerns.
4. My last meeting with the Ministry of Public Safety. The coverage by ICBC was overshadowed by many of the other weights being added to our VFD but it appears that there was some
acceptance of needs for reform here.
I did feel better about these meetings but that is the function of the opposition.
RDOS, Area “C” Director
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