MOOSE JAW — City council has rejected the Moose Jaw Police Service’s 2025 budget request because of how expensive it is and has sent the document to the police commission for further refinement.
Council unanimously approved a motion during its Jan. 20 budget meeting to decline the police service’s 2025 operating and capital budgets requests that the Board of Police Commissioners had submitted on the agency’s behalf. Moreover, council asked the commission to review the document and find ways to reduce the overall request.
The police service is asking for operating funding of $13,155,774 this year, which is an increase of $909,871 — or 7.43 per cent — over last year. It is also asking for capital funding of $344,000.
City administration says this proposed increase would likely translate into a municipal tax increase of 2.35 per cent, since one percentage point of taxation this year is $387,402. Moreover, the request would add $3.64 per month or $43.68 per year to taxpayers’ bills.
Coun. Jamey Logan, Coun. Patrick Boyle and Mayor James Murdock are members of the police commission and agreed with sending the budget request back for revision, saying while the previous board approved the proposal in November, they wanted the new group — including the newly elected council members — to “put (their) stamp” on that submission.
Moreover, the board needed to ensure the request was in line financially with other requests in the proposed 2025 city budget since, as Logan put it, the costs of the agency’s request exceeded the cost of living index “by a considerable margin and are not affordable to the citizens of Moose Jaw.”
Said Coun. Dawn Luhning, “The amount that the (police) service is requesting is — I hate to say excessive, but when you consider what we’re looking at as a city as a whole, I’m hoping the police commission … can take a look at it and see where they can make some changes.”
When asked what the cost-of-living index number is in the proposed 2025 city budget, finance director Brian Acker said that number was three per cent. He noted that that is an estimate that city hall shared with the police service.
Said Coun. Chris Warren, “I know the Moose Jaw Police Service does incredible work in the community, but I would like an opportunity for our current board to take a look at that and engage with our police service.”
The Board of Police Commissioners will likely meet in the next week to review the budget submission and make recommendations to reduce the amount requested.
The next budget meeting is Thursday, Jan. 23.
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