The upcoming Interlakes Fire Department referendum has highlighted a number of oversights in the legislature that governs the referendum process: the legislation does not require direct notification to the property owners. The Cariboo Regional District (CRD) hosted two public meetings that were advertised and held, June 11 and Aug. 13, at the local community hall. The referendum question was advertised twice, for the advance poll (Aug. 27 and 29) and regular voting date (Sept. 6) in the local 100 Mile House papers. All the notification has been "local" advertisements, which, although compliant to the legal requirement, is one of the significant oversights in the process. In my neighbourhood on Lac des Roches, 93 per cent of the 128 land parcels are owned by persons who live permanently elsewhere. Most were unaware of the local meetings and many were unaware that there is a referendum at all, which will see their property taxes increase if 50 per cent plus one of those who turn out to vote, vote yes. Property owners should be informed of a referendum where the minimum per parcel tax increase is $50 and their "cabin" could see a property tax increase exceeding $500 a year. At the first meeting, the public was invited to provide input into the proposed property tax increase. Many issues, such as maximum number of parcels per owner, assessment values used for the calculation, certification and service requirements of the fire department and possible insurance discounts were raised. The show of hands was an indication that assured funding and certification for our Interlakes Fire Department is a positive step forward for our community. The CRD considered the public’s input and budget requirements and have determined and published the tax rates that will be the referendum question, which they presented at the second meeting. Although there are aspects of the tax calculation that may still be questionable to some, the referendum question has been determined and will proceed to a vote for property owners in Area L. At the June 11 meeting, Maureen Pinkney, elected Area L Representative, mentioned that the addresses of property owners in our area are on several continents around the globe. It is because of this discussion the CRD is now taking extra steps to ensure that non-local property owners are aware of the referendum and have mailed out notices on August 21. Although it is very short notice for many out-of-towners to travel to the Cariboo, pre-register and cast their vote, the CRD, particularly Rick Hodgson, chief election Officer and Rowena Bastien, manager of protective services, deserve a round of applause for their efforts to compensate for an oversight in the process that does not address the unique demographics of the Area L property owners. The referendum legislation is the responsibility of the Ministry of Community Development and is undergoing review. Other areas for improvement that need to be considered are non-resident voter pre-registration requirement, mail-in or proxy voting and the location of advance polling to ensure a democratic process going forward.