Costs are going up for the South Simcoe Police Service.
The police services board approved the draft 2024 operating budget of nearly $25.3 million, and draft 2024 capital budget of almost $1.5 million, during its meeting at Innisfil Town Hall Oct. 25.
While the budget documents won’t be made available publicly until they are presented to the councils of Bradford and Innisfil either later this year or in early 2024, Chief John Van Dyke provided a verbal overview of the highlights.
Of the more than $1.6 million increase to the operating budget, Van Dyke explained that $960,176 is the result of increased wage costs, as the service looks to hire eight new officers and three new civilian support positions to help meet the demands on police with calls for service up 23 per cent over last year.
“Staffing increases have not kept pace with growth. As of 2022, we are one of the lower services in the province when it comes to the officer-population ratio and we need to get that up as our municipalities continue to grow,” he said.
Another driver of increasing wages are contractual and step wage increases as existing staff move up the pay grid, and the increased cost to benefits that come with it.
The service is projecting an increase of about $574,000 to benefits costs.
Inflation has also led to rising costs for fuel, vehicle repairs, uniforms, software licences and building maintenance — all accompanied by a $250,000 increase to insurance costs.
Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin noted that municipalities are also facing increased insurance costs, with some attempting to pool resources to deal with the issue, and she wondered if the department could try something similar such as collective purchasing through the Police Regionalized Information Data Entry (PRIDE) partnership which includes South Simcoe and four other police services.
The chief explained that PRIDE is updating its strategic plan in 2024, at which time the idea can be explored along with any others that benefit the partner services.
“All those options are on the table,” he said.
Van Dyke estimates benefits and wages make up about 91 per cent of the total operating budget.
“That doesn’t give you much wiggle room,” board chair Chris Gariepy said.
Moving on to the capital budget, Van Dyke began by noting a line item for additional office space, which the service plans to renovate in late 2024 and hopes to occupy in 2025.
“We are out of space in both of our buildings and we need to find additional space. We believe we have found that space,” he said.
When it comes to the service’s fleet, the budget includes $300,000 for six new police cruisers, including four interceptors and two unmarked vehicles — all of which are planned to be hybrids that are better for the environment and reduce long-term costs by using less fuel.
“We’re trying to do our part to be a responsible corporate citizens and go green where we can,” the chief said, but added that the current demand for hybrid police vehicles seen by other services might mean that some of the six new cruisers end up being traditionally gasoline powered instead.
South Simcoe currently has one hybrid cruiser. It has only been on the road for a few months.
Regardless of the fuel type, the service expects an additional $100,000 to up-fit all six vehicles.
Other expenses include:
- $158,494 for upgrades to the Bethesda communications tower in Innisfil
- $135,000 to cover the service’s 6.6-per-cent share of costs to update the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS)
- $117,000 for the AXON body-worn camera subscription program (up $5,000 from last year due to proposed staff increase)
- $90,400 to replace computers
- $40,000 to transition from .40-calibre to 9-mm pistols
- $40,000 to upgrade buildings
- $40,000 to upgrade the service’s website (which will facilitate online reporting)
- $25,000 for new furniture
- $18,244 for the yearly charge to be part of the Next Generation 911 (NG911) project
- $15,700 for three new laser speed radars
- $3,000 for roadside screening devices
- An undisclosed amount for switches and battery replacements in the communication centre and at tower sites
- $87,000 for new building security
The chief explained the restricted access security system in Bradford was from 2008 and the one in Innisfil from 2011, meaning both had reached the end of their lives and could no longer be supported.
He also noted that some of those costs could result in savings, including an estimated $5,000 yearly by switching to 9-mm ammunition, and additional grant funds for NG911 that the service expects to hear about in November.
Bradford Mayor James Leduc asked if it was possible to re-purpose the outgoing computers for use by residents, such as in library programs, and Insp. Henry Geoffroy explained that while hard drives need to be both wiped and incinerated for security purposes, other components such as power units, fans, casing and more are recycled and reused by the service’s IT department.
Dollin asked if every opportunity had been taken to apply development charges to anything in the budget.
“I’m a big believer that growth should pay for growth and as we grow ... some of that should be paid for by the new residents coming to our municipalities,” she said.
Van Dyke confirmed the service does report to the municipalities on new growth, including the expected additional office space.
Having approved the operating and capital sides, the board plans to send the budget to the chief financial officers in Bradford and Innisfil to co-ordinate when they will be presented to both councils.
While no dates have been set, Gariepy mentioned that previous budgets had been presented in December or January.
