Meeting on Wednesday, the Greater Sudbury Police Board agreed to cut its 2020 budget by $250,000 following a request from city council.
While only half of the $500,000 the city was hoping for, Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre said it was a show of good faith balancing the needs of both parties.
“I told council I would bring their voice (to the board) and I was hoping that (the $5000,000 reduction) is what it would be,” Lapierre said.
During city budget talks last week, councillors passed a motion asking police to delay plans to set aside money for the construction of a $65 million headquarters.
Police have so far set aside $900,000 and plan to increase that amount by $500,000 each year until 2024, when they would have $3,400,000 available to pay the mortgage on the 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.
Mayor Brian Bigger introduced a motion Dec. 4 to rescind that approval of the $62.95 million police budget – an increase of 4.95 per cent compared to 2019 – and instead ask the board to delay setting aside the $500,000 for one year.
Bigger said it would lower the overall property tax increase without affecting police operations 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.”
But police have delayed plans to replace or renovate their current space repeatedly in recent years, agreeing to look for existing city buildings that could be suitable and, more recently, to explore sharing a new headquarters with other emergency services.
A 2016 review of local police operations by KPMG found the force provides policing at a lower cost than most other communities in Ontario, and identified a new or renovated headquarters as a top priority. The current Brady Street location is a former government office not designed for police, has chronic mold and heating issues and lacks adequate space for staff and training needs. And the elevator is used by staff and the public, as well as police transporting suspects and has too many entrances – something that raises significant security issues.
At first, the plan was to proceed with an $18.8 renovation of the Brady Street headquarters, but in January of this year, Police CAO Sharon Baiden said more analysis found that approach was only putting off construction of a new facility. Renovating an old building that wasn't built for police doesn't make sense in the long run and would only delay the need for a headquarters designed for the needs of police.
“Renovation really isn't something that's going to work — it won't meet our needs,” Baiden said at the time. “What we are continuing to look at really is what a new, special purpose build of a police facility would look like and we do continue to examine our options in that area.”
On Tuesday, Lapierre said the board felt cutting the full $500,000 was only delaying a badly needed project. So they agreed to split the difference and reduce it to $250,000.
“I think that's a sign of good faith from the board,” he said. “We're still showing that the building is a priority, but also showing council that we understand that, you know, we need to tighten our belts everywhere we can.”
Had the board agreed to the full reduction, the proposed property tax increase for 2020 would drop from 3.4 per cent to 3.22 per cent. At $250,000, it would be just more than 3.3 per cent.
City council had to wait for police to make a decision before finalizing next year's $615 million city budget, which is now expected to happen Dec. 16.
