Stock photo courtesy of the City of Vernon

By Liam Verster

Emergency Operations, Services Grants

Vernon to seek funding for emergency operations and services

Nov 27, 2024 | 3:02 PM

The City of Vernon will look to bolster its emergency responses with some financial assistance.

Vernon City Council voted in favour of submitting two applications to the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) for emergency support services and emergency operations funding at the regular meeting Monday, Nov. 25.

The first grant the city would seek would be $40,000 from the Emergency Operations Centres Equipment and Training 2025 Program.

The second grant, also for $40,000, would come through UBCM’s Emergency Support Services Equipment and Training 2025 Program.

“[The grants] are very operational in nature,” David Lind, Vernon Fire Rescue Services’ Chief, told City Council Monday.

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“Those grants are for exercising and training.”

Lind added these are straight forward grants and was confident they could be secured, though did state that training could be done internally should the applications not be approved.

Council voted unanimously in favour of submitting applications for the grants.

During the meeting, it was also noted that the city previously received a UBCM Community Resiliency Investment Program grant for FireSmart and wildland projects in 2020 and 2021 that did not fully cover the work.

Lind said there were some challenges in the complex, reporting requirement for the grant, adding a Registered Professional Forester, that the city contracted and was key for the work, was ill for several months and unable to do the work needed to meet UBCM’s criteria.

He noted the work was completed and should make Vernon more resilient to wildfires in the future.

Council authorized the expenditure of $176,905.36 from the unexpended, uncommitted reserve to cover the project’s financial shortfall.