By ROY WOOD

At first glance, it appears that members of the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) pay a lot more than the rest of us for fire protection. The band has no fire service of its own and, therefore, contracts with the towns of Oliver and Osoyoos for fire protection. The amounts the band pays to the two towns are significant.

In Oliver, the OIB contributes more than a third of the total fire budget, the remainder being split more or less evenly between the town taxpayers and those in the rural Oliver Fire Protection District (OFPD).

According to 2016 figures, the Oliver fire department budget is approximately $394,000. Of that amount, the town contributes $123,000 and the rural area chips in $122,000. The OIB’s contribution is $149,000.

With only about 600 residents, the fire protection costs are much higher for the size of the population of the OIB compared to the town or the OFPD. However, the annual invoice that the town sends to the OIB is based on assessed values of the properties not on population.

As Oliver chief financial officer David Svetlichny pointed out in a recent interview, “The thing about the OIB lands is that they have a lot of industrial (development). … The big thing there is the new prison, (which is) assessed at 400 million dollars, from what I understand.”

The impact of the new correctional centre on the band’s fire protection costs is reflected in the nearly 50-per-cent jump from $101,000 in 2015 to this year’s $149,000.

OIB controller Elise Petersen said in a recent interview the payments the band makes are in accordance with the contract between the parties.

She said the band recoups the fire protection costs through lease payments from industrial and commercial tenants and a grant in lieu of taxes from the province, which owns the Okanagan Correctional Centre.

The situation in Osoyoos is similar to Oliver, but not as dramatic.

The 2016 fire budget totals roughly $451,000. Town taxpayers contribute $301,000; the Osoyoos Rural Fire Protection District pays $95,000; and the OIB just $55,000, or about 12 per cent.

Osoyoos chief administrative officer Barry Romanko pointed out that the Osoyoos fire department is responsible for a considerably smaller portion of OIB lands.

Fire protection responsibility between the two departments divides at approximately Road 22. Osoyoos covers the Cottages residential development at the north end off Osoyoos Lake and the lodge and other facilities at Spirit Ridge on the East Bench.

The Oliver firefighters respond to OIB land calls from there all the way to north to Gallagher Lake.