Stick with current police budget funding model: review

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This article was published 10/03/2022 (1316 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A review of several potential funding models for the hotly debated Winnipeg Police Service budget has concluded city council should stick with the status quo.

In January, the city sought public input on its current funding model, as well as four new options to determine police funding. The key goal was to ensure sustainable annual budgets, amid some concern law enforcement spending was growing too fast.

Some critics also repeatedly lobbied council to defund the police, such as by transferring part of the service’s budget to recreation, libraries and other city services.

Despite a lack of proposed changes, the head of the Winnipeg Police Board says the exercise was worthwhile.

“Winnipeg undertook to do this work to determine if there is a better way of providing for predictable and sustainable funding… The status quo is one of two options that might address the concerns of some in the community about reducing the police budget, (so) I’m not surprised about the recommendation that has come back,” said Coun. Markus Chambers.

Chambers noted the current funding model allows council to set the total budget available for police and hear community feedback on potential changes each year.

Alternatives to the status quo included the following options: automatically raising the budget each year to include an inflation increase; increasing the budget each year by the cost of wage increases plus inflation on all other costs; guaranteeing the same wage and inflation hikes but funding them through a public safety levy; or capping the annual budget increase to a set portion of new property tax revenues.

Only the final budget cap option would have reduced the WPS operating budget in 2021, while the other alternatives would have increased it.

Chambers stressed police need a sufficient budget.

“We have to recognize that our city continues to grow, calls for service continue to grow, the complexity of policing is ever increasing. And so, if we’re looking at public safety, right now isn’t time to have that discussion about reducing police budgets,” he said.

Policing costs accounted for 26.5 per cent of the City of Winnipeg’s total 2021 operating budget, with nearly 86 per cent of the costs linked to wages and benefits. The total WPS budget for 2022 is $319.7 million, with both capital and operating costs included.

Chambers said ongoing efforts to divert some 911 calls to professionals other than police should help reduce some expenses without compromising service levels.

A public service report notes the status quo system is predictable, allows for public input, permits council discretion, doesn’t restrict collective bargaining, and doesn’t introduce a new tax.

“Although there was some appetite for change expressed, there was no consensus among those involved in public engagement meetings and/or surveys as to which funding model would be the most appropriate for Winnipeg in the future,” writes Catherine Kloepfer, Winnipeg chief financial officer.

Coun. Sherri Rollins, who has advocated to reduce the police budget by 10 per cent, said the current funding model is best suited to ensure elected officials can respond to the community they serve.

“Although there was some appetite for change expressed, there was no consensus among those involved in public engagement meetings and/or surveys as to which funding model would be the most appropriate for Winnipeg in the future.” – CFO Catherine Kloepfer

“The work should be left to democratically elected council to reflect the values and the needs of the community… in any given budget year,” said Rollins.

She noted WPS was tasked to find $9.1 million of savings within its 2022 budget, citing it as an example of cost control.

The process to consider new funding formulas has triggered backlash from groups lobbying the city to cut the police budget, since it didn’t include options that would achieve that goal.

A member of Budget for All, which has pushed for police defunding, said the status quo would leave the door open for council to make such changes in the future.

“It’s not surprising to me that people generally called for the city not to abandon any sort of political oversight of the police budget, which is what all of the options aside from the status quo did. They removed city council from decision making,” said Andrew Kohan.

The Winnipeg Police Service declined comment on the recommendation.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga