The Township of Esquimalt discussed reducing the amount of a budget increase for the Victoria Police Department, citing responsibility to taxpayers and the current policing model.
In discussing their role in accepting the budget, which is 9.55 per cent higher than last year’s, the council debated on Monday (March 13) the benefits of certain aspects for the Township.
Among those were seven new positions, janitorial and building maintenance, capital fund contribution, a body-worn camera pilot and computer forensic unit contracted services.
In the past, Esquimalt council has argued they pay a disproportionate amount for policing services than other municipalities their size, at just over 13 per cent, and many of those same sentiments were brought back to the table.
READ MORE: Victoria police board proposes 9.55% budget hike
To address this concern, the council also voted to request that the police board make changes to officer deployment levels, reducing the number of officers in Esquimalt by three. They also passed a recommendation to not support the addition of seven new officers, which would provide both civilian positions within the department and police officers.
“Given the ongoing discussions regarding the framework agreement and the future of policing in Victoria and Esquimalt, I am not sure that now is the time to invest in new civilian positions that could have limited impact to the township of Esquimalt moving forward,” Coun. Andrea Boardman said. “I think this change would provide the most appropriate service levels to the Township of Esquimalt and it would free up three officers to support the needs of the City of Victoria.”
Coun. Tim Morrison said the policing needs between the two municipalities are different.
“When we look at the budget request, specifically around the additional officers and additional civilian positions - it is very difficult for us to justify to our community that is essential,” Morrison said. “If I am looking at this from a City of Victoria point of view, it may be a whole different discussion and that is for them to decide.”
With the reduction of seven positions, council estimated they will save the taxpayers of Esquimalt nearly $76,000 - a number Mayor Barb Desjardins said may seem small to some, but which recognizes the challenges people are facing daily and the differences between the policing needs for Esquimalt and Victoria.
“In a year of inflation of seven per cent, where people are hurting to buy four litres of milk, we all have to look to restraint,” Desjardins said. “I think that the biggest problem is that both Victoria and Esquimalt have said over and over this marriage is not working. That is a message that the province at some point has to accept and deal with. I really do believe this is a provincial issue. Unfortunately, we do it through the budget process every year.”
In terms of the other changes council proposed, deferment was the most popular option - with many at the table agreeing with the value of the initiatives.
“These are quality initiatives that I support, all I am saying is that maybe we shouldn’t support them this year when there has been a proposed 9.55 per cent increase in the budget and maybe next year is small,” Boardman said.
The question of what constitutes “adequate and effective policing” for the township is one that Coun. Jacob Helliwell said has a major role to play in the discussion.
“We clearly all have different positions on what adequate and effective is and it comes partly to our positions, civilians and non-police experts versus those who live and breathe policing everyday, but it also comes down to these structural positions we have that, just in my opinion, aren’t working,” Helliwell said.
He said the arguments made in favour of the new positions and body-worn cameras were strong, but questioned if they necessarily impacted the quality of policing in the township specifically.
“I’d be most comfortable with the seven positions but I’m not necessarily opposed with us trying our best with the circumstances we have to find the line items that will help us get to what we think is a more palatable increase for our community this year,” he said.
Council also voted to defer the capital fund contribution request of $160,000 until next year, citing the $1.4 million remaining in that reserve. They also voted to reduce the building maintenance and janitorial fees by $100,000.
Additionally, they voted to defer computer forensic contracted unit services until “such a time where we understand our policing model better between Esquimalt and Victoria.”
These changes, if accepted, would reduce the budget increase from 9.55 per cent to 7.4 per cent, Boardman said.
READ ALSO: Esquimalt ordered to pony up its portion of 2022 Victoria police budget increase
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