The results of the Edgewood referendum are in and residents have voted overwhelmingly to allow taxation services for the local fire department and Legion community hall.
The two groups have no source of income, so the taxation service is necessary.
The fire department is in need of expansion. Right now all they’ve got are a couple of trailers with pumps with water storage on them that are pulled behind a pickup truck.
The Legion has been subsidizing the community for a number of years, and is now finding it difficult to keep doing so without some kind of supplement from the community.
Almost all eligible voters participated in the referendum, about 153 in total. Some took part in the advanced poll, while others took part in the regular vote.
Paul Peterson, an electoral area director for the Regional District of Central Kootenays (RDCK), was impressed with the turnout.
“I thought it showed an awful lot of support from the community to have that much of a turnout and to be so well supported.”
It was Peterson who made the decision to allow the referendum to go ahead.
The changes to allow the taxation services will be on the 2017 tax rolls for the RDCK. They are expected to be completed in early 2017.