After a spirited discussion on the need for an enhanced community presence, Chatham-Kent councilors approved the police service’s four-year budget as presented Tuesday night.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Chief Gary Conn, who provided council with an overview of the request last week, reiterated the need for the service to become more proactive, rather than reactive, while minimizing officer burnout.
Article content
A recent operational analysis by consulting firm Deloitte recommended adding 43 full-time staff, which will be phased in to meet service demands in a growing community.
Chatham-Kent council approved multi-year net budget increases of $2.2 million, $2.35 million, $2.85 million and $2.9 million. The overall annual police budget for 2024 is just over $36 million.
“I appreciate that this budget process is again an unprecedented one and council will need to make some difficult and obviously challenging decisions,” Conn said.
Advertisement 3
Article content
Over the next four years, the police service plans to hire 11 new constables, four sergeants, one inspector, 11 special constables and 16 civilian staffers.
That’s the same total Deloitte recommended, but the service will add slightly fewer constables and sergeants, and more special constables.
Sixteen new employees will be hired in each of the first and second year, six the third year and five in the fourth year.
Some of the new sworn personnel will go to the major crime unit, and the intelligence unit, which encompasses drugs and street crimes.
Chatham-Kent has 142 officers per 100,000 population, below both the provincial average (174) and the national average (183).
South Kent Coun. Trevor Thompson entered an unsuccessful motion asking that $250,000 be removed each year, with the $1 million total deferred to the next multi-year budget beginning in 2028.
Advertisement 4
Article content
“I don’t want it to disappear forever,” he said. “I do believe that the four-year plan that the police chief and the police services board have laid out is a prudent one. I just believe we need to stretch it out a little bit longer than the four years.”
Conn told advisors the budget being presented was the fifth version, after already undergoing various changes, noting Deloitte’s initial recommendation before the revision was for 48 new staff.
He also stressed that a $250,000 cut each year would result in few bodies.
“We have done our due diligence with respect to this budget,” he said. “We are bare bones as it is right now.”
In other budget matters Tuesday, councilors approved a motion from South Kent Coun. Anthony Ceccacci to reduce the current budgeted premium for asset management lifecycle inflation from 2.3 per cent to one per cent.
This will result in inflationary increases of 4.7 per cent, 3.5 per cent, 3.1 per cent and 3.1 per cent in the coming years.
With the changes, Chatham-Kent’s proposed tax increase for 2024 now sits at 6.03 per cent, with an average of 7.33 per cent over the four years.
Deliberations are scheduled to continue Wednesday and Thursday night.
Article content