Central Saanich Police Board Addresses Rising Policing Costs and Budget Concerns

The Central Saanich police board is working to address the significant costs driving up policing costs, including overtime pay, according to Mayor Ryan Windsor. The board is reviewing the 2022 budget guidelines, which focus on controlling costs while meeting the demands of the community. The municipality's police force has accounted for about 50 per cent of all municipal tax increases over the last five years, with additional funding for policing accounting for 59 per cent of the overall tax increase in 2021.

Key Takeaways:

The police budget accounted for 26 per cent of the municipality's operating budget of $25.6 million in 2021, with wages and benefits making up 82 per cent of policing costs.
Key drivers of rising labour costs identified by Windsor and staff include overtime and Workers' Compensation claims, as well as provincially-mandated changes to dispatch services totalling $300,000 over two years.
Staff forecast the need for another $316,000 to balance the budget, representing a tax increase of 1.72 per cent.
Council members expressed concerns about sustaining police services in the face of rising costs, with some suggesting that reducing the number of officers could mitigate costs.

Statistics:

50 per cent: the proportion of municipal tax increases attributed to the police force over the last five years
59 per cent: the proportion of the overall tax increase in 2021 attributed to additional funding for policing
26 per cent: the proportion of the municipality's operating budget accounted for by the police budget in 2021
82 per cent: the proportion of policing costs attributed to wages and benefits in 2021
$300,000: the total cost of provincially-mandated changes to dispatch services over two years
$316,000: the forecasted financial gap required to balance the budget, representing a 1.72 per cent tax increase

Sources:

"Central Saanich Council meeting minutes, Aug. 16, 2021"
"Peninsula News Review, [no date]"