It seems disaster preparedness, addiction and housing are among the issues on the minds of Okanagan politicians as they head to Vancouver for the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) convention.
The event, which starts Monday, is a chance for municipalities to lobby provincial ministers on local issues.
It’s also an opportunity for local governments to rally support from other municipalities for their causes.
This year, Okanagan local and regional governments are sponsoring a wide variety of resolutions calling for everything from local photo radar to more provincial funding for wildfire mitigation.
Wildfire mitigation and emergency management
With the Okanagan’s susceptibility to fires and flooding, local governments are looking for changes to how disasters are prevented and managed.
Vernon has put forward a resolution calling on the province to change the way it mitigates against forest fires.
The resolution argues that B.C.’s “current wildfire management strategy is overly reliant on FireSmart,” putting too much of the burden for wildfire protection on homeowners “while much of the land requiring treatment is government controlled.”
The UBCM points out there is already a grant program that provides funding for local governments to do fire mitigation projects within their jurisdiction and this year’s provincial budget allocated extra money “to prevent and respond to wildfires.”
In a separate resolution, the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District is also calling for the province to come up with a standardized procedure for how local governments should “authorize re-entry into evacuated areas.”
It is an issue that could be addressed in the province’s current review of its Emergency Program Act.
Vernon is also calling on the province to have “sufficient” staff available to process permits for disaster prevention.
Addiction and housing
Penticton is advocating for a number of policies related to addiction and housing.
The South Okanagan city would like the province to “fund significantly more licensed rehabilitation facilities.”
Penticton is also calling for social services to be provided at or near the site of “homeless housing” and for the provincial ministries responsible for health and poverty reduction to inspect rooming houses to ensure “vulnerable individuals” are not taken advantage of.
Photo radar
In a resolution at the UBCM convention, West Kelowna is again asking for municipalities to be allowed to use photo radar in their own jurisdictions to enforce speed limits.
The city is arguing that the technology “has proven to be effective and efficient in the management of speed.” However, the speed traps have also proven unpopular with drivers.
While the UBCM is recommending its members endorse the idea, it notes that two years ago when West Kelowna brought a similar suggestion forward it was a nonstarter for the province.
However, since then, Victoria has added speed enforcement capabilities to some of its red light cameras.
Funding
Okanagan governments are also arguing they should have more access to some provincial revenue streams.
Armstrong is sponsoring a resolution calling for 10 per cent of provincial gambling revenue to go to local governments.
The province says local governments in communities where casinos or community gambling centres are located already get 10 per cent of the gambling revenue from the locations in their jurisdictions.
For example, in the fiscal 2017-18 year, Kelowna got more than $4 million as a result of hosting two gambling facilities.
Meanwhile, the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District would like to see gas tax funding go to volunteer or paid on-call fire departments for infrastructure projects as well as equipment, training and administration.
The UBCM points out that gas tax money is typically used for capital projects, not ongoing operations.
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