Grand Bay-Westfield council has thrown its support behind calls to have Ottawa help absorb rising RCMP costs.
The town said a new collective agreement for Mounties has created “significant challenges” for municipalities.
A news release said the town had been setting aside 2.5 per cent a year in anticipation of a new agreement, but that was not enough.
The new agreement will see the annual salary of a constable climb from between $53,144 and $86,100 to between $65,766 and $106,576.
A corporal with the RCMP will make up to $116,703, up from a maximum of $94,292, a sergeant’s salary will increase from up to $102,775 to up to $127,204, and a staff sergeant will make up to $138,657 compared to a maximum of $112,028.
The town said communities cannot absorb significant and unbudgeted policing costs and could be forced to make “difficult choices,” such as cuts to essential services or passing on increases in property taxes.
Council said it supports two solutions put forward by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which includes calling on Ottawa to absorb all retroactive costs related to the new agreement.
The second solution asks the federal government to commit to ensuring municipalities are properly consulted before measures are implemented “that impact local fiscal sustainability and ability to maintain effective levels of police services in communities.”
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