Niagara’s police services board has approved an amended 2024 operating budget following a regional council request to cut spending — but Chief Bryan MacCulloch is warning that implementing mitigation strategies to attain budget savings “come with risk.”
In a special Niagara Regional Police board meeting Monday, MacCulloch said the original $190.5-million operating budget the service put forward — an increase of 7.1 per cent year-over-year — is nowhere near what is required, but what is needed to sustain its current services.
Last week, Niagara Region council’s budget committee voted to refer the operating budget back to the police board to review. At the meeting, Region Chair Jim Bradley said “many of the items I see in here, I put under the category of nice to have instead of absolutely, essentially needed.”
MacCulloch on Monday presented an amended $188.5-million budget — a decrease of 1.2 per cent — he said is “really just to keep the lights on and to ensure that we are able to provide adequate and effective policing to the community.”
“We’ve done our upmost to come forward with what we believe is a very responsible and realistic budget,” he said. “We totally understand the impact that a 5.9 per cent increase has for the taxpayers of this region, but as chief of police for one of the largest growing municipalities in Ontario, I believe that any further cuts would potentially jeopardize public safety.”
Cost-saving strategies, assessed with an emphasis on risk analysis, included transferring $500,000 from a contingency fund to account for the extra leap year day in 2024, as well as reducing the budgeted fuel rate.
The updated budget also staggers hiring of 20 front-line officers, saving months of salary and benefits.
But while offering a 2024 cost benefit, MacCulloch said it will require police to “rely upon overtime to fill vacant shifts.”
The biggest adjustment comes in the hiring of additional positions and, while not "ideal," the chief said it was possible to defer to 2025 the recruitment of an investigative support position, IT equipment support technician, crime analysts supervisor, enterprise project co-ordinator, crime analysis supervisor, visual content creator and one digital evidence management system clerk.
MacCulloch said the assessment deemed some positions "essential," including the addition of a uniform crime report clerk, major crime analyst, engagement unit officer and two detective constables for 3 District — specifically addressing unprecedented growth in south Niagara.
The updated budget also keeps two detective constables for opioid enforcement and education unit, one constable for the training unit, one network and security administrator, and a second communications training co-ordinator for 911 call-takers and dispatchers.
Board members Kevin Gibson and Nyarayi Kapisavanhu expressed concern over reducing the police budget, with Kapisavanhu asking MacCulloch what impact cuts have in terms of public safety.
MacCulloch said ensuring police have adequate resources to address growing needs is “something that I worry about on a daily basis.” Violent crimes are on the rise, as are calls that deal with opioids — on Sunday, he said, Niagara Falls officers responded to six overdose calls in six hours — mental health and homelessness.
He said specialized investigation units are “tapped out,” police are triaging which incidents it can investigate and its detectives offices are being depleted to assist in other areas.
In 2022, there were 198 instances in which the NRP was not able to meet its minimum staffing requirements, relying 715 times of cross-district deployment — when an officer from one district moves to another.
In 2023, those numbers are trending higher with 752 instances of cross-deployment as of November.
Said MacCulloch: “We’re robbing Peter to pay Paul in order to get the staffing requirements.”
Board chair Jen Lawson said until there are better mental health, housing and addiction strategies, Niagara needs more police officers. She said it is up to the Region to help advocate to its provincial counterparts to ensure it's getting “proper support in place and, until then, we do need more police officers because calls for service will continue to rise.”
The police board approved a reduction of 1.1 per cent from its initial budget — to six per cent from 7.1 per cent — to $188.5 million from $190.5 million.
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