Police chief asks city for $14 million budget boost
Calgary’s police chief painted a bleak picture of policing in Calgary while asking elected officials for a $14.3 million boost to the service on Monday, as city council began deliberating a tough 2018 budget that proposes cuts across all city departments.
From the most vehicle thefts in the country to growing worries about terrorism — along with a 49 per cent year-over-year increase in shooting events, a rising caseload when it comes to domestic violence and sex crimes, and unsolved homicide files being pushed to the backburner as new murders occur — are all leading to officers feeling exhausted, said Calgary’s police Chief Roger Chaffin.
“The pressures (officers are) under, (and) the kind of stress they’re under to meet the demands of the day, simply call for more support at this point,” Chaffin told reporters at city hall Monday.
“When you’re dealing with so many dangerous situations, so many weapons, so many stolen cars, (and) a lot of the drugs we’re seeing, we have to make sure we’re giving (staff ) the opportunity to be successful. It’s very difficult work right now.”
During a presentation and question and answer period at council, Chaffin said Calgary leads the nation in vehicle thefts and has witnessed a rise in shooting events — 91 during the first 10 months of 2017, compared to 61 over the same time period in 2016.
While some city councillors questioned if money would be better spent on prevention, rather than boots on the street, Chaffin said as police workloads increase, the $14.3 million is needed to hire 55 new civilian and sworn members to address the growing demands he detailed.
Chaffin told council in 2012 there was one police officer for every 598 people in Calgary. That number is projected to be one officer for every 628 people next year, without the additional officers.
“The workload of 2012 is not the workload of 2018. Policing is far more complex,” the chief said.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi said while Calgary remains “an extraordinarily safe city,” there have been spikes in certain areas of crime.
“Much of this is related to the economic downturn. Much of it is related to the fentanyl crisis. I’m quite sympathetic to the need of addressing those two things,” Nenshi said.
Council is expected to make a decision regarding the increased funding for police later this week.
The first day of budget deliberations on Monday saw 21 Calgarians present to council, including many who spoke in favour of Calgary’s newish and popular $5.05 bus pass and sliding scale for low-income transit users, which administration is recommending council continue to fund with $4 million.
On Tuesday, elected officials are slated to continue to ask staff questions and debate the budget, which proposes a zero per cent tax increase for 2018 while aiming to bridge a $146-million operating shortfall through cuts across all city departments, including the elimination of 156 full-time equivalent positions.
If a tax freeze for 2018 is approved by elected officials, Calgarians would still see a 2.9 per cent increase on the municipal portion of their property tax bill next year because of one-time rebates council approved in 2017.
The one-time rebate effectively sheltered taxpayers from the 2017 increase by deferring the impact for one year.
A further 0.8 per cent tax increase will be felt if council votes to approve the request from Calgary police for more cash.
“You never know what council will do. I suspect that we will end up somewhere close to what administration was proposing, with the police added in,” Nenshi said Monday.