The Bradford West Gwillimbury-Innisfil Police Services Board approved the proposed 2021 budget for the South Simcoe Police at their November meeting – and one week later, South Simcoe Chief of Police Andrew Fletcher presented his budget at the Town of Innisfil’s budget deliberations.
“It’s very different from that of last year,” said PSB Chair Licinio Miguelo. In 2020, the service added six new hires, and expanded new services within the communities of BWG and Innisfil.
This year’s COVID-19 budget is “responsible and pragmatic, reflecting our ability to address local priorities,” Miguelo said.
The Town of Innisfil had projected a five percent increase in policing costs for 2021. In fact, noted Chief Fletcher, the increase in the Operating Budget came in at 4.6 percent, even though demand for services continues to increase, as both municipalities experience substantial growth.
In 2021, Innisfil’s population is expected to increase by 3.9 percent, to over 43,000. BWG, experiencing slower growth in 2019 of just under 1 percent, will grow to 39,237.
In addition to increasing calls for service, Police have had to update and refocus, Chief Fletcher said, to address more complex cross-border investigations, that can now include issues of gang infiltration, drugs, and human trafficking; and to introduce new technologies.
“Our goal has always been to be proactive, not reactive, to those impacts,” noted Fletcher, even though staffing has not kept pace with growth.
Nationally, the average is 182 police officers per 100,000 population; in Ontario, that average is 177 officers per 100,000.
The South Simcoe Police Service fields 119 officers per 100,000 population, but has still managed to keep up by deploying more of its staff on the front lines of policing (80 percent). There are two additional hires proposed in 2021, “needed to keep pace,” Fletcher noted.
To hold the line on the budget, the service has cut overtime, presumed fuel costs will remain unchanged, and cut $73,000 from its clothing, supplies and training budgets. The increase in expenditures in 2021 still comes to $940,000, of which more than $800,000 is for salaries and benefits.
The result is a net operating budget of $21.2 million in 2021, and a net capital budget of $621,622.
Operating costs are divided between Innisfil and Bradford West Gwillimbury, based on a formula that considers population and number of households.
Under that formula, Innisfil will pay 53 percent of Operating, a total of $11.26 million; BWG will pay 47 percent, or $9.938 million.
The capital budget – which includes $106,568 for Radio Infrastructure (“We need stable and secure radio infrastructure for our officers,” explained Fletcher), and $335,554 for fleet replacement – is divided equally between the two partner municipalities, each paying $310,811.
Overall, Innisfil's share of the total comes to $11.57 million, or $578 per household (about $48 per month) for the average home – “a reasonable amount to be paying to ensure the safety of the community,” said Chief Fletcher.
The 4.6 percent increase in the policing budget translates into a 2.19 percent increase in the overall property tax levy – which the Town of Innisfil has voted to offset, to ensure a zero percent property tax increase in 2021.
For the average home in BWG, valued at $516,919, the cost per household will be about $643.42 – translating into a 2.55 percent hike in the blended property tax.
Asked about the impact of ongoing low staffing numbers, Fletcher acknowledged that it does place a burden on frontline officers – especially as the force loses officers to PTSD, or to other police services. This year, three experienced officers left to accept positions with the OPP, he said.
“We are continuing to recruit, continuing to hire, and hopefully will get caught up,” said Fletcher – but just not in a pandemic year.
Chief Fletcher was also asked if the nearly five percent increase per year is sustainable.
He pointed out that the actual impact is closer to 2.1 percent, on the tax bill – and that costs will undoubtedly continue to go up, although the Service continues to look for new grants and new revenue streams, including newly introduced online services.
South Simcoe Police do expect some additional grants, in particular to cover court costs. However, the amount of the grants won’t be known until March, which is why they weren’t included in the budget, Fletcher said.
