Board discussed delay of 2025 AGM and election; taking loan from the Capital Reserves, and requesting to take loan from 2025 levy
Derek Kilbourn
Sounder News
The agenda package for the April 2 meeting of the Gabriola Fire Protection Improvement District Board includes minutes from an in camera discussion held after the March 5 Board meeting.
This package was available to the public on the Gabriola Fire web site as of March 31, 2025. As of April 2, the agenda package had been removed from the Gabriola Fire web site. The package as originally available can be viewed here on the internet archive.
The regular board meeting of March 5 ended at approximately 4:40pm.
The in camera meeting afterwards ended (according to the April 2 package) at 6:36pm. The minutes do not state how long a break there was between the regular meeting and the in camera meeting. Nor do the minutes state if there was a rise and report out of the discussions.
During the in camera meeting, a discussion took place around the following topics:
1. The 2025 AGM and Election.
2. A transfer of monies from Capital Reserves to the working funds, with intent to pay that back.
3. Fire Safety Act. Duties of Chief and Deputy to act as Inspectors.
4. A request was placed for taking a loan on the upcoming 2025 levy and the reply from the Municipal Affairs was no.
The Sounder became aware of this information on the Gabriola Fire web site at 5pm on Monday, March 31.
Fire Board Trustees, and Fire Board Chair Paul Giffin were emailed the following questions:
1. Can Trustees identify how any of these issues were in camera discussions? Given that none of them deal with land purchase, HR, or legal issues. Why were these not either old or new business during the regular Board meeting?
2. Is the Fire District running short on cash, and thus requiring the need to take monies from the 2024 Capital Reserve, or on loan from next year’s levy? The District just put in a bylaw specifying exactly what those Capital Reserves would be used for, correct?
3. Why is the Board moving the AGM and Election to June – and potentially discussing separating the two?
4. The agenda package as downloaded from the site starts with Trustee Diana Moher addressing the email to the Corporate Officer email, and greeting Paula. Is there someone named Paula now working as the acting Corporate Officer?
Chair Giffin acknowledged the email questions on Tuesday, April 1, but did not provide answers to the questions.
From the in camera minutes of March 5, 2025 included in the April 2 Agenda package
[indicates information added by Sounder, anything else is direct quote]
“Can we take a loan on the upcoming levy. Municipal Affairs said no as you need to apply ahead of time. That ended February 25/25.
“Provincial Government allows us to move our AGM [Annual General Meeting] and separate the election.
“Suggest we move the AGM to June and keep the election and AGM together. This helps to simplify issues we are dealing with right now.
“Information: LAFC [Local Assistants to the Fire Commissioner in British Columbia] badge for inspections is suspended. New Fire Safety Act replaces it. Says local authority can appoint inspectors. Definitely does not include Improvement Districts. RDN [Regional District of Nanaimo] appointed Chief and Deputy Chief as inspectors and investigators – no authority to do so. Fire Commissioner of BC directed RDN to appoint and confirm Chief and Deputy Chief to fulfill the job. All now legal.
“Shortfall: Bylaw 108 created for $ at TD bank. Capital Reserve account did no exist when we passed the 2024 levy. Can we pass a motion to move money from the capital reserve account to the working account with the provision that we pay it back. Look at methods to slow the flow of money to [unreadable] to the 2025 levy.”
Background
Current Trustees are:
Paul Giffin (Chair)
Erik Johnson
John Moeller
Diana Moher
Ray Appel
Charlene Wells
Kent Moen
Chair Giffin and Trustee Wells have terms ending this year.
Neither has declared whether they will run for re-election this year.
According to the Governance section of the BC Government’s web site on Improvement Districts, meetings known as in camera or closed meetings are only used when discussing legal matters, property acquisition or personnel matters.
On November 14, 2024, the Board held a Special Meeting with the sole agenda item being the approval of Bylaw 108, a bylaw to establish four different renewal reserve accounts.
Those four reserve accounts are for capital reserves entitled “Capital Replacement Trucks”; “Capital Replacement Equipment”; Fire Hall Repair and Replacement”; and “Contingency Fund.”
This bylaw came after a letter campaign from the public requesting the BC Government require the Gabriola Fire Board to establish a bylaw to specify what Capital Reserves would be used for.
The increase for the 2025 Levy for the Gabriola Fire Protection Improvement District will be 38%.
The capital budget will increase 71.35% from $213,000 to $369,840.
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