With city councillors staring at a sizable budget increase — 3.55 per cent as it stands now — they voted Wednesday to ask Greater Sudbury Police to lower their spending plans for 2020.
Mayor Brian Bigger introduced a motion at the finance and administration meeting to rescind approval of the $62.95-million police budget, which councillors had passed Tuesday.
Representing a 4.95-per-cent increase compared to 2019, Bigger wants the police services board to hold off on a $500,000 hike in the amount police are setting aside for a new headquarters.
Police and other emergency services are looking at the possibility of sharing a space, with a feasibility study expected to begin by the end of the year.
Police set aside $900,000 last year to fund debt repayments for the headquarters, an amount increasing by $500,000 each year until it hits $3.4 million in 2024. The new facility is expected to cost roughly $60 million.
Bigger said delaying the $500,000 would lower the tax increase without affecting police in the short term.
“In no way does it impact the plans of the police board in moving forward with their project,” Bigger said. “It’s a pretty straightforward ask.”
Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini, who chairs the police services board, hasn't attended budget meetings this week. But council's other representative, Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre, said he would be happy to bring the matter back to the board, which meets again Dec. 11.
“I’m happy to share the concerns expressed by council,” Lapierre said. “It may not all come from the renovations, but if that’s the magic number, I’m happy to bring it to the board.”
But, he said, the board does have the option to reject the request, and it would only delay the increase, since the headquarters has to be built.
Multiple studies have been completed showing a new headquarters is an urgent need, and police have delayed plans in the past to proceed at the request of council. Most recently, they agreed to work with other emergency services to look at sharing a space.
Lapierre said the police budget was designed to gradually add the money needed to pay the mortgage for a new building, to lessen the overall budget pain.
“The police service requires this building,” Lapierre said. “At one point or another, the board is going to say, let’s build this.”
Bigger said they are only asking for a one-year delay, and raised the possibility of using an existing city building rather than a new headquarters, a path police have already rejected.
“It’s not to say we’re not making a contribution towards a renovation or a new build,” the mayor said.
In Ontario, municipal councils can only accept or reject a police budget. If it's rejected and the police service doesn't make changes, the dispute is heard by the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services, which has the final word.
Greater Sudbury isn't the only community facing a significant hike in their police budget in 2020. Police in Sault Ste. Marie has a draft budget with an 7.9-per-cent hike, police in Barrie sought a 5.2-per-cent increase and in Guelph it was 9.8 per cent.
Ward 5 Coun. Bob Kirwan said councillors should be careful in sending the budget back. When he was a school teacher, Kirwan said if a student told him he had made a mistake marking a test or paper, Kirwan would warn he would re-mark the entire paper and may find other mistakes and the student could get a lower mark.
“So (the police budget) may come back higher than before,” he said.
But Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann said police want to work with councillors, not against them.
“This is not the first time we’ve asked them to take a second look,” Landry-Altmann said. “I’m sure they will come back with the best possible solution.”
“They are always open to discussion,” added Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier, a former member of the police services board.
Budget director Ed Stankiewicz said until they heard from police, the budget increase hasn't changed. But if they agree, it would reduce the current hike to 3.3 per cent.
While councillors were hoping to finalize the $615-million city budget this week, that can't happen until they hear from police. Councillors must also decide on whether to add a 1.5-per-cent extra increase, money that would be dedicated to replacing the city's aging infrastructure.
While not saving money in the budget, an innovative motion from Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti will allow the city to replace its fleet of snowplows quicker. Rather than spending money to buy new plows, Signoretti's motion will see them finance them instead.
That will allow them to buy seven new plows next year, instead of five, and more plows over the next four years using the same formula. The city can borrow money from itself to finance the purchases, using capital funds earmarked for projects not set to start for a few years. Those funds will be replaced by the debt repayments.
