Committee of the whole budget meeting (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

CITY BUDGET

City of Kamloops provisional budget takes aim at policing costs

Nov 19, 2024 | 4:43 PM

KAMLOOPS — The average Kamloops household could pay $2,903 in taxes next year, as Kamloops city council has taken its first look at the 2025 municipal budget. On Tuesday (Nov. 19), council’s Committee of the Whole was tasked with approving five recommendations for the provisional budget.

City council did vote to include an additional five new RCMP officers in the 2025 provisional budget, but not before a lengthy conversations about how the city is left powerless over mounting cost increases.

“What on earth else in our lives do we pay for that we have absolutely no control over the delivery of, what that looks like, what success looks like? Give me a break. It’s out of control. It’s time for municipalities to get really loud about this. It is a disservice to the RCMP, it’s a disservice to our community,” said Councillor Katie Neustaeter.

Some of the current pressures include the cost of new mandates around body-worn cameras, body armour and guns being passed down to the municipal level.

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“We were aware of a pilot for body-worn cameras — not a complete rollout. Then, also, the other two came without prior warning for us to be able to budget for them,” said Chief Ken Uzeloc, Director of Protective Services for Kamloops.

It’s expected the cost of the body-worn cameras alone to be north of $3,000 per officer.

The city is also worried about how disbandment of the Surrey RCMP and the subsequent ripples through the province.

“We are watching the biggest RCMP detachment in the province being transitioned to a municipal police force,” said Director of Corporate Services David Hallinan. “Many of the cost allocation models are based upon a per-member distribution component. You take the biggest member group out and those dollars have to go somewhere.”

Without Surrey, Kamloops would enter the top three RCMP forces in terms of size in British Columbia, with policing already the top driver of taxes for Kamloops residents.

“The province needs to understand from the municipal government, in my view, they are much more flexible in their ability to generate revenue than we are, and that is where this dissipation of costs should be done, and it should be feathered better so that municipalities aren’t struck with these bills. We are talking, now, an officer on the street costing $250,000,” said CAO Byron McCorkell.

The conversation was not undertaken to slight the local detachment in any way, said councillors, but to highlight the issues with the contract at the federal and provincial levels.

“I want to be careful how we move forward. But we have got to get the spending under control, whatever that takes. But for the members who are here now, I — and I think we — should show them support, that we don’t want to overwork you. We want you to have some time with your families,” said Councillor Bill Sarai.

The next step of the budget process is a public presentation on Wednesday (Nov. 20) at the Sandman Centre’s Kia Lounge, beginning at 6:00 p.m.