Fire Service Agreement Reached With TNRD

The TNRD will entering into a five-year contract with the City of Merritt for providing fire protection services in portions of Electoral Areas “M” and “N” near Merritt.

The contract value is $1,547,833.

The estimated tax rate is $0.48 cents per $100,000 of assessed value for the 482-properties in this fire protection service area which is a 16% decrease in cost to property owners compared to 2023.

The annual cost for 2024 is $275,808 and increases incrementally, each year of the contract.

The most recent contract with the City of Merritt expired at the end of 2023.   The TNRD and City of Merritt staff began negotiations for a new, long term contract last year.

The most recent two contracts were one-year terms as we worked through service boundary changes in the Lower Nicola area related to the end of a fire protection services previously

provided through an agreement with the Lower Nicola Indian Band. The service boundary changes, and subsequent short-term agreements, resulted in large fluctuations in taxation. This

new 5-year agreement will give tax stability moving forward.

The City of Merritt approved this agreement at their regular council meeting on April 23, 2024.