Nanaimo financing $2.5 million action plan for downtown safety and social disorder

He added the challenge for the City of Nanaimo was to deal with downstream issues stemming from causes outside their capabilities and jurisdictions.

Krog said frustrations abound in the community stemming from a seemingly ineffective criminal justice system to healthcare.

“Everyone knows that at the end of the day a criminal sanction will have no meaning and no impact on the behaviour…at the end of the day the real issues are to be dealt with by a healthcare system that isn’t working for the most vulnerable amongst us.”

The committee’s recommendations will be forwarded to Council for approval at a later meeting.

(Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

What’s involved in the plan?
The action plan, to begin taking effect July 1, 2022, calls for the hiring of 12 uniformed community safety officers (CSO), addition of a second downtown community clean team, creation of a vandalism relief grant for businesses, among other strategies to connect people in crisis to available resources.

“It’s very clear…that there are not enough services for people in need in Nanaimo and indeed other communities,” consultant Allan Neilson, author of the plan and recommendations, told councillors. “There are some services for people in need so we want as an outcome of this plan to ensure wherever those services exist that we do allow for increased connection to services.”

The fundamental pillar behind the plan, and its main difference between past efforts to curb disruptive behaviour, is a tiered approach which Neilson said has seen results in communities like Kamloops and Maple Ridge.

Neilson’s plan calls for a more effective and managed approach combining of City staff, contracted private security and Nanaimo RCMP, led by the dozen community safety officers.

The officers are poised to become full-time City staff members.

The plan is intended to be in place long-term.

Funding for the new positions and expanded services is annual, rather than a one-time payment with short term benefits but no long-term legacy.

Neilson answered a question from coun. Sheryl Armstrong on what made this new direction better, when many aspects were already tried in the past.

“What we are suggesting is to create those as City positions and fund them as City positions, so therefore you have an automatic permanence there as City positions. We’re not suggesting them as a pilot project, we’re not suggesting them as RCMP positions or…third party positions.”

Initial Challenges
The biggest hurdle identified was actually finding people to fill the positions.

Additional positions at the Nanaimo RCMP detachment haven’t been filled and a City report noted their security contractors have had difficulties filling those positions as well.

Neilson said the process was “not going to be simple” but was optimistic based on feedback for other communities undergoing similar plans.

“We do believe that while hiring the right people and getting people is never the easiest proposition, based on the experience of other places we will have success in that.”

The hiring of the CSO’s would free up other resources.

Private security would be redirected and financed by individual businesses looking for an additional layer of protection, while City bylaw and Nanaimo RCMP could be better deployed in their respective fields.

CSO’s would also be tasked to work outside of current patrol hours for bylaw officers.

“We have (bylaw officers) working weekends but most…are working during the weekdays and most of them are working to about dinner time, but we really need different hours for these programs so we want CSO’s that will work until 11 at night, midnight or two in the morning,” Neilson said.

Officers would be trained in defensive use of force programs to manage when situations become violent and be in contact with RCMP where required.

While no specific location for their base of operations is decided, Neilson said it’s best to have the officers out of City Hall, with the former Community Policing Office on Victoria Cres. seen as a potential spot.

RCMP bike patrols and other private security are a regular presence throughout the downtown, working with people on the street. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Footing for bill
The $2.5 million sticker price per year was the main concern for councillors during debate at Wednesday’s meeting.

Actual costs will range from approximately $1.5 million in 2022, $2.8 million the year after before averaging out to $2.5 million on an annual basis.

Cost for the program will be bourne primarily out of taxation revenue on an annual basis with councillors opting with a 0.9 per cent tax increase for 2022 and one per cent for 2023.

It was the preferred option over a phased approach which would have reduced the tax increase in the short term, but increased the burden in years to come.

Coun. Don Bonner said the money is likely already being spent in other areas to tackle the same issues.

“I believe this is a necessary expense, considering the position we’re in. I fully believe we’re spending close to $2.5 million a year (anyway) because the province isn’t doing their job and providing the services that we need here.”

Laura Mercer, city director of finance, said her department looked at multiple different ways to fund this program without a tax increase, but the permanent nature of this proposed solution made it difficult.

“We don’t have a whole lot of options other than taxation as a steady revenue source,” Mercer said. “There could be grants but those are generally one-time things and then you’ll just delay that tax increase to a future date.”

In a presentation, Mercer did identify some savings the City has been able to make which will account for a good portion of the costs to implement the program in 2022.

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alex@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley

by Alex Rawnsley

Nanaimo financing $2.5 million action plan for downtown safety and social disorder

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