Message from the GBID Trustees to Texada Island residents.

November 6, 2025

Message from the GBID Trustees to Texada Island residents.

The Trustees are very appreciative of the work and dedication Mike Corcoran has given to the Firefighters during his time as Chief. We regret that he has decided that he cannot continue. His letter to the community shows his concern for the Firefighters, and the very real challenges all Volunteer Fire Services face.

Unfortunately, his heartfelt letter gives the impression that the Trustees do not support upgrading the training and equipment of the Fire Service. Also, it does not clearly describe the issues surrounding the budget for 2026.  The Board has already allocated more than $50,000 funding for equipment in 2024-2025. Additional funding for equipment and training is included in the budget for 2026.

The financial support for the Fire Service comes mostly through the Parcel tax and the specific proposal put forward by the Fire Chief would require a large increase in this portion of the tax and further increases in later years. The novel part of the proposal was that the Chief and Deputy Chief should become part time employees of the Improvement District, and that Volunteer Firefighters should receive financial compensation for time spent in training and possibly call-outs. The detailed proposals were presented to the Board very close to the deadline for submitting the budget to the Province, so that there was no time to discuss whether this was the best way to deal with the problems described by the Chief in his letter. Furthermore, the plan had not been discussed with the Texada Firefighters Association which includes both the Van Anda and Gillies Bay fire departments.

The Trustee’s decision was that the plan could not be approved as District policy and funded until further consultation had been carried out. A consultation process is now underway and a policy proposal for long term support of the Fire Services will eventually be presented to taxpayers. The future of the Fire Service is very important to the community. The problems facing Volunteer Fire Services are real but effective solutions are not obvious. The Trustees are committed to support the Firefighters and hope that with community support we can have a safe and effective Fire Service for many years to come.

The Trustees of GBID