Improve in 2025 Barrie police price range ‘on the low finish of the dimensions in comparison with different municipalities,’ says councillor who heads up metropolis’s finance and accountable governance committee
All Ontario municipalities ought to obtain provincial funding to assist pay their policing bills, not simply these with OPP providers, says Barrie Coun. Gary Harvey.
“The province has added additional funds to help support rural municipalities using the OPP, which should be done across the board to assist all taxpayers of the province,” stated Harvey, chairman of the town’s finance and accountable governance committee.
In late November, the province introduced it will offer $77 million to 330 municipalities policed by Ontario Provincial Police to assist offset what some native councils had been calling unaffordable will increase. This subsidy averages about $233,000 per municipality.
However the subsidy, thus far, has not been prolonged to municipal police forces such because the Barrie Police Service.
Within the metropolis’s case, the police draft price range is 6.99 per cent or $4.8 million extra in 2025, for a tab of $72.34 million this 12 months.
Mayor Alex Nuttall stated in mid-December that the town would request funding from the province, however was unsure whether or not the province will supply funding for municipal police providers.
Town’s Dec. 24, 2024 circulation checklist incorporates correspondence from the City of Smiths Falls, requesting the province acknowledge that municipalities with native police providers additionally proceed to see important value will increase and budgetary pressures in policing, that are immediately impacted by OPP labour prices.
Smiths Falls requests that the province deal with all Ontario municipalities equitably with help in funding to help managing the rising prices of policing. Its city council handed a movement to that impact Dec. 16, 2024, and despatched it to Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
“(Barrie city) council should support this request taking all things into consideration that I am aware of, to date, prior to the budget presentation from the police,” stated Harvey.
Police spending is a part of the town’s working and capital budgets, which set property taxes and repair ranges, and is scheduled to be debated and authorized later this month.
Harvey stated this 12 months’s 6.99 per cent police price range enhance is because of contractual commitments of the Barrie Police Providers Board, together with hiring particular constable officers for the town’s downtown. He famous the police price range is 95 per cent non-discretionary, comprising salaries and advantages, which is regular for police providers.
“This (2025 Barrie police price range) enhance is on the low finish of the dimensions in comparison with different municipalities, whether or not they’re policed by the OPP at as excessive as over 20 per cent and Peel Regional Police at 23.3 per cent,” stated Harvey, who has a background in legislation enforcement.
“(Barrie Police) Chief (Wealthy) Johnston and the (police providers board) have executed an excellent job in bringing a considerably decrease price range request than what we’re seeing throughout the province, all of the whereas rising their front-line complement the place the assistance is required essentially the most,” the councillor added.
The province has stated the funding introduced will assist communities handle the monetary affect of a brand new contract settlement with the Ontario Provincial Police Affiliation that was ratified this summer time. The union stated on the time that the four-year deal made OPP officers the best paid within the province. It runs from 2023 to 2026 and consists of retroactive raises of 4.75 per cent for the primary 12 months and 4.5 per cent for the second, in addition to 2.75 per cent raises for the ultimate two years.
Barrie’s police price range is normally about 20 per cent of the town’s whole annual working price range and its most costly merchandise.
This 12 months’s police price range spending enhance had been projected at 5.79 per cent, or $3.9 million extra, for a complete of $71.43 million.
However a downtown deployment initiative, requiring seven full-time particular constables and costing $910,787 yearly, is the extra value to the police price range which hiked the rise to six.99 per cent from 5.79 per cent.
Barrie’s 2025 police price range additionally consists of $486,000 for a five-year working lease of new conductive vitality gadgets, known as Axon Taser 10s.
A projected $524,000 surplus on this 12 months’s police price range, and an working reserve of $887,000, are each funding sources to pay for the Tasers.
The 2025 police price range additionally consists of six new sworn officers. At current, Barrie police has 250 sworn officers and 125 civilian members.
The police price range is a part of the town price range and thus requires council approval.
Councillors will obtain 2025 budgets from metropolis service companions — the County of Simcoe, metropolis police and the Barrie Public Library — on Jan. 8, then hear displays of those budgets Jan. 15.
Normal committee’s price range talks can be Jan. 22, with metropolis council approval of the overall working and capital budgets on Jan. 29.
