The Board of Police Commissioners has approved an amended budget for the Moose Jaw Police Service, which now sees the agency asking for a 3.06-per-cent increase instead of the original 5.49 per cent.
During a special meeting on Dec. 12, the board voted unanimously to approve the revised 2023 budget and forward the document to city council for official approval. This was in response to city council voting down the budget during its Dec. 7 budget meeting because members thought it was too expensive.
Commissioner Mary Lee Booth was absent from the meeting. However, because the board discussed this matter in camera — behind closed doors — during its Dec. 8 meeting, she likely provided input then.
The revised budget sees a reduction of $51,511 from the salaries expense category because the police service (MJPS) will send only four officers to training school next year instead of five. Meanwhile, the MJPS has asked for an additional $220,000 in revenue from the traffic safety reserve to go along with its original request of $110,000, for a total of $330,000.
Based on these changes, the overall net budget request the MJPS is asking for next year is $11,509,548, compared to the original $11,781,059. This is a reduction of $271,511.
This new net budget request now represents an increase of $341,422 over this year; the original request increase would have been $612,933.
This means the police service’s new budget request represents an increase of 3.06 per cent from the original 5.49 per cent. The new increase now represents a municipal tax hike of roughly 1.03 per cent instead of the original 1.86 per cent.
One percentage point of municipal taxation next year represents $330,701.
Board meeting
The MJPS spoke with the Saskatchewan Police College’s executive director on Dec. 8 — a day after council rejected the budget the previous night and before the police board meeting that afternoon — to discuss training positions for Moose Jaw recruits, explained Chief Rick Bourassa.
The agency had originally budgeted to send three police recruits to the school in January and one recruit in July, he continued. It would have cost roughly $70,000 to train each member who started in January — a total of roughly $210,000 — and roughly $30,000 to train the member who started in July.
Bourassa learned through those discussions that the police college would only set aside two positions for Moose Jaw recruits in January. So, the agency decided to send the third recruit to the college in July to join the other one.
The chief added that the police service will swear in a new, experience officer and two recruits during a ceremony on Friday, Jan. 6.
As for the traffic safety reserve, the original request of $110,000 is normally used to fund a position to focus on traffic safety initiatives, Bourassa said. With the total increase now being $330,000, this will allow the MJPS to add another position and assign someone else for a total of four officers focused on traffic safety initiatives.
“Now, this is just an ask for 2023. It doesn’t create any ongoing obligation. That is something council needs to approve every year (if there’s) any movement from that fund,” he added.
Commissioner Clive Tolley thanked Bourassa and his team for revising the agency’s budget and reducing its request.
“It’s going to be much more palatable, I think, to council to see this revised number,” he added. “And I think what’s really encouraging is that we’re going to have (four) new police people this year and help get us back up to full staffing.”
Commissioner Doug Blanc agreed with Tolley, noting he thought it was a good budget and would reduce the burden on taxpayers, considering the new request translated into a municipal tax hike of just over one per cent instead of 1.86 per cent.
“I think this is great news,” he added.
