Monte Creek Fire Protection Service Referendum

The proposed service would result in a new fire department that would offer exterior structural fire protection to homes and business in the Monte Creek area.  This service would include the construction of a new fire hall, purchase of a fire truck, purchase of firefighting equipment, and recruitment of volunteer firefighters.

The new hall will be located at the corner of Hook Road and Dallas Drive.  This land has been generously offered as a donation by the Herman Family if the referendum is successful. 

This location is also centrally located within the proposed service area and offers excellent access to the highway for easy and fast response.

The new fire protection service would be administered by the TNRD.  The new department would partner with the existing Pritchard Volunteer Fire Department which is well-established and well-trained.  The new hall in Monte Creek would act as a satellite hall to the Pritchard Fire Department, operating under the Pritchard Fire Chief.

Both the communities of Pritchard and Monte Creek would benefit from this partnership as the new service would result in more firefighting resources to share between the two areas.

The capital budget for the proposed service is $2.25 million.  This includes approximately $1.3 million for the construction of a new hall, $750,000 for a fire truck and fire tender, and $200,000 for personal protective equipment for fire fighters, including required self-contained breathing apparatus.

The TNRD has secured $1 million in grant funding. Ken Gillis, TNRD Electoral Area “L” Director, and Mel Rothenburger, TNRD Electoral Area “P” director, have each committed $500,000 from the Canada Community Building Fund. 

The remaining $1.25 million will be borrowed by the TNRD from the Municipal Finance Authority, to be paid back over a 20-year period by the property owners within the proposed service area (Monte Creek).

The money to pay back the loan will be collected through a parcel tax which will be imposed on all properties within the proposed service area. The parcel tax will be equal for all properties, regardless of assessed value. 

The parcel tax will be approximately $321 per property, per year, for 20 years. 

The annual operating budget for the proposed service is $175,000 per year. The money to cover annual operating costs would come from property taxes, which are based on the assessed value of each the property. The proposed maximum tax rate for ongoing operational costs is 66.5 cents per $1,000 dollars of assessed value. This means if your property was assessed at $1 million, the tax collected for the fire department operations would be $665 for that year. You can calculate the maximum tax rate for your property by multiplying the assessed value of your property by 0.000665.

Formula: (property assessment) x 0.000665 = annual property taxes

Example: ($500,000) x 0.000665 = $332.50

Please note, the 20-year parcel tax discussed previously would be in addition to the property taxes. This means a property assessed at $1 million would pay $665 towards the operating budget, plus the $321 parcel tax.

Please also note that the parcel tax will only be collected until the capital loan is paid off after approximately 20 years, after which time only property taxes will be collected to cover ongoing operational costs.

Taxation collected for a specified fire protection area cannot, and will not, be used for any other purposes. Any unspent tax collected for this service will either be used to offset taxes in the following year or put into a reserve fund devoted to the specific service.

We cannot guarantee reductions in insurance rates, as insurance companies act independently and consider various factors when setting rates.  However, generally speaking, homeowners see significant costs savings in insurance premiums if they have fire protection. In many cases, insurance premiums savings are equal to or greater than the increase in taxation from a new fire department.

We can also confirm that most insurers in Canada use the rating system from the Fire Underwriters Survey (FUS) to set insurance premiums. For a property to be considered protected, the FUS requires that it be within a maximum of 8 kilometres (by road) of a recognized fire hall. The majority of properties within the proposed service are within this maximum, however, there are some properties beyond this limit. Those properties may not benefit from the same level of insurance savings as those within the 8-km limit. 

We strongly encourage you contact your insurance broker with specific questions regarding potential costs savings for your specific property.

The service area includes the Monte Creek area, including Del Oro and Lafarge. On the South side of the South Thompson River, the service area includes properties along the Trans-Canada Highway between the City of Kamloops boundary (near the BC Wildlife Park) and the junction with Highway 97. It continues up Hwy 97 to Barnhartvale Road, including properties at the east end of Barnhartvale Rd.   

On the north side of the river, the service area includes the properties along East Shuswap Road between Harper Ranch Road and Rivershore.  Please note the community of Rivershore is not included in the proposed service area and properties east of Rivershore are also not included in the service area.

To confirm whether or not you property is within the service area, please use the interactive map on this page.

No. The service, and the costs of the service, would only impact properties in the proposed service area. This means that there are no costs or other implications for properties outside of the proposed service area.

Provincial legislation requires public assent for a Regional District to create a new service, primarily because those people who live within the service area will ultimately be paying for the service through property taxes.

The referendum date is Saturday, May 28, 2022 at the BC Livestock Yard & Office, located at 10145 Dallas Dr., from 8 am to 8 pm. Advance Voting will take place Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at the TNRD Office, located at 300-465 Victoria St., from 8 am to 8 pm. Mail-in voting is also an option. Please click on Mail Ballot Voting on this webpage to find more information.

Anyone who lives within the proposed service area that is 18 years of age or older, a Canadian citizen, and has been a BC resident for at least the past 6 months may vote.  In addition, if you do not live within the service area, but you own property within the area, you may also vote. You may only vote once; if you both own property and live within the service area, you are not entitled to vote twice. No pre-registration is required to vote.

Resident Electors must produce 2 pieces of identification (at least one with a signature). The identification must prove both residency and identity. Picture identification is not necessary.

Non-Resident Electors must produce 2 pieces of identification (at least one with a signature) to prove identity, provide proof of ownership (i.e. BC Assessment Notice), and, if there is more than on owner, provide written consent from a majority of the property owners to one owner voting. Non-resident consent forms are available on this web page.

The new service would begin in 2023. There would be no impact to your 2022 property taxes. Recruitment of volunteers would begin in fall of 2022. The design and tender for the new hall would also begin in the fall of 2022. Construction of the new hall would begin as early as spring of 2023.

There is no option to opt out of a fire protection service once established.