The Halton Police Board has approved a $203.8-million police budget for 2024.
The budget request, which will come before Halton regional council for final approval at a later date, was discussed during a board meeting on Oct. 26.
Halton police Chief Stephen Tanner acknowledged the funding request represents a 9.5 per cent increase compared to the $186-million budget in 2023, but he said these funds are what the service needs to help keep up with community growth and tackle emerging crime trends.
“The region does remain the safest large municipality in Canada. We’re all proud of that. We’ve got the lowest crime rate, the lowest crime severity index, although things are going up … Organized crime is alive and well across Canada and it is here too, along with all the different elements that brings with it whether it be cybercrime, human trafficking, guns and gangs, auto theft,” said Tanner.
“We want to ensure that we have the capability and the resources so we can continue to have the successes we’ve had in the past.”
A mid-year report presented by police to the board in early October noted while violent crime is down, overall crime in Halton rose 5.4 per cent during the first six months of 2023.
Some of the significant factors driving the 2024 budget increase include: increases in compensation and benefits (3.5 per cent), a government funding decrease (0.2 per cent), software maintenance requirements (0.4 per cent) and inflation-related cost increases for the building of the Halton Hills police station (0.7 per cent).
The need for additional staffing, however, is the single largest reason for the budget increase (4.1 per cent). Tanner is seeking budget approval to hire 49 new officers and 24 new civilian employees.
“Our front lines are depleted to a degree,” said Tanner.
Deputy Chief Roger Wilkie said Halton police currently have 498 front-line officers, however 84 of those individuals are not deployable as some are on parental leave, short-term sick leave and long-term disability leave.
He said there are also a number of vacancies. “With those that are left, we are getting to the point where we are seeing burnout,” said Wilkie.
“We are seeing officers not signing up for overtime because they want to be home. They want to actually invest in their own health and their families.”
To that end, Halton police want to hire 28 new patrol constables, seven officers for an organized crime strike team, nine additional homicide investigators and five other officers, whose duties were not spelled out in the budget report.
On the civilian side, the budget calls for funding to hire seven police analytics specialists, five communications staff, three court services personnel, two forensic computing staff, two information technology (IT) staff and five other civilian staff members whose duties are not specified.
Some of the other expenses in the 2024 budget include: $800,000 for police facility security system upgrades; $800,000 for the creation of additional police radio channels; $600,000 to create a backup data centre; and $700,000 for a human resource information system.
Another $3.5 million is needed for vehicle replacement while $1.5 million is needed for technology replacement, according to the budget.
Tanner initially called for the police board to approve a budget of $204.9 million, but said the board approving a budget of $203.8 million would not impact community safety.
Board member Lisa Kearns brought forward a motion to approve this lower option, which was seconded by board member Curt Allen.
“Halton police play a vital role in keeping our community safe, and with your constant presence and hard work you ensure we are able to live in a secure environment,” said Kearns.
“It is crucial that we are able to provide you with the necessary resources and funding to do this important work.”
Board chair Jeff Knoll said the community is crying out for more resources for police so they can deal with rising crime.
“The province of Ontario has established their housing plan, which involves building a significant number of homes across Ontario over the next 10 years and Halton has its responsibility for that. It’s very rapid growth and in order to be ready for that we have to start today,” said Knoll.
“We will be way behind the eight ball if we delay hiring at all. I think this is responsible. It meets the needs of the people of Halton. It puts us in lockstep with the growth projections we are seeing in the region and it provides the tools that our service needs to remain the best police service in Canada.”
The board voted unanimously to approve the police budget.
