2022 Police Budgets Approved By Board

The 2022 operating budgets for the Saint John Police Force and the Public Safety Communications Centre have been approved.

The Saint John Board of Police Commissioners approved the budgets at a meeting on Tuesday night, which will go to the city’s finance committee at a later date.

For 2022, the police force’s spending will be $25,843,504, up by $750,244 from this year.

Wages and benefits will grow by 3.04 per cent, which aligns with the wage escalation policy. The goods and services budget, which was supposed to be frozen at 2021 levels, will increase by $99,245.

“The CFO and the city manager were very supportive of this increase as it relates to IT costs the force must absorb due to the cyber attack,” said Craig Lavigne, senior finance manager.

However, staff said the budget freeze put pressure on items such as fleet fuel and training, which could not be increased despite higher costs in both areas.

Chief Robert Bruce noted that the force is two years behind with training due to delays caused by COVID-19.

“Even the mandatory training just to catch up is going to take us a year and a half, and that’s not included in the extra courses that we need to bring our members up to a level they can testify in court on, specific with the job that they’re doing,” said Bruce.

Staff cautioned that a complete freeze on goods and services cannot impact the force’s ability to provide services, noting that there is very little control over things like rising fuel prices, insurance rates and legal costs, among other things.

They also said several “budget pressures” will need support from the city in the 2023 budget and beyond, including a new records management system, body-worn cameras, and an online reporting system.

“There will be an annual cost of the initiatives and will need additional funding to support this,” said a staff report.

Meanwhile, spending for the Public Safety Communication Centre in 2022 will grow by over $283,000 to nearly $2.8 million.

Lavigne said the budget includes an additional $103,000 for the annual cost of a new computer-aided dispatch system, which has support from the city.