Taxpayers in West Kelowna will fund an expansion of the fire department so the municipality can woo high-rise builders.

Council agreed this week to provisionally budget $1.6 million in 2027, boosting taxes by three per cent, to add 10 more firefighters to the 52-person department.

Developers currently can’t get financing for buildings of more than six storeys in West Kelowna because the city doesn’t have the required firefighting manpower or equipment, Mayor Gord Milsom says.

“It’s holding back development applications,” Milsom said during Tuesday’s meeting.

“They (developers) can’t get financing to even put a shovel in the ground to start until they know we can defend the whole structure. It’s a non-starter,” said Coun. Rick De Jong said.

The plan as approved by council is to provisi

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