Police trim $102k from 2016 budget

The Greater Sudbury Police Services Board met for the second time in as many weeks to discuss their proposed 2016 budget.

A request by board member Michael Vagnini on Nov. 18, asked that the board be given some additional time to pore over the proposed $53,651,856 budget.

When they reconvened on Nov. 25, GSPS board chair Frances Calderelli addressed GSPS chief Paul Pedersen regarding the desire to cut down in a few places and bring the proposed 2.1 per cent increase down to an increase of 1.9 per cent.

“I've asked the chief and (CAO) Sharon Baiden to look very hard to see whether there were any further ways that we could trim the budget,” said Calderelli. “We know that the budget has been extremely lean to start with, but we would like to see if we can bring it down again.”

Pedersen explained that of the proposed 2.1 per cent increase, 1.9 per cent accounted for salaries and benefits and short of laying off staff, was a fixed cost.

“I understand that you have asked us to find efficiencies that take us down to 1.9 per cent and on your direction we can make those cuts,” said Pedersen. “When we do cut the police budget we are always mindful that we have to maintain adequate and effective service in our community, so the areas where we are looking to find efficiencies in our budget are areas that will have the least impact on service. We are getting dangerously close and we have been under-resourced in comparison to provincial averages.”

The GSPS will seek to find cost savings with their vehicles, as well as leased storefront locations. This doesn't mean that that GSPS will begin operating without the use of police cruisers or start moving out of communities where they have storefronts, but rather seeking more cost-effective solutions.

“Our fuel costs are estimated based on the price of gas,” said Pedersen. “It's very possible that there could be no increase in gas prices, but if we do get close to our budgeted amount we will have to start looking at alternatives like foot or bicycle patrols.”

The storefront locations are located in numerous communities in Greater Sudbury, some come at a fixed lease fee, others do not, and Pedersen suggested that there may be a need to explore more rent-free locations.

“For the most part every one of them is a little different and we pay either rent to a plaza or we pay money back to the city to compensate for occupying those places,” said Pedersen. “So where we're able to find money in that is finding locations that are rent-free.”

The savings would not be monumental for either measure, but at this point in the budget proposal process, it comes down to squeezing as much value from the resources that are already available and finding savings wherever possible.

“We're talking about saving a few thousand dollars but that's where we're at with this budget,” said Pedersen. “The total amount cut from the police budget was (around) $100,000 and that money is made up of a series of $1,000 bills.”

The board unanimously approved the budget which totals $53,549,719, a 1.9 per cent increase from last year, and $102,137 in savings from the budget that was originally proposed on Nov. 18.