Saint John police expect $500K budget overrun

The Saint John Police Force is on track to be $500,000 over budget this year following a contract settlement earlier this year between the city and its 147 unionized police officers.

Mayor Mel Norton, who serves on the police commission, says he's been told by police Chief Bill Reid that efficiencies cannot be found to absorb the salary increases.

"There was nothing he could do about that. He said it was related to wages and there wasn't anything from his perspective that he could do," said Norton.

Signed in April, the contract agreement gives police officers a 12 per cent increase over three years. It follows a two-year wage freeze.

Reid told city council in May that his department will require a $1.5-million budget increase next year to cover the salary costs in the agreement.

Norton says the city can't sustain budget overruns such as this.

"I have questions about certainly the sustainability about those kind of budgets," he said.

"And I very much value the work of the police officers. But we can't as a city work on a sustainable basis with budgets that, in this case, are expected to exceed — by about half a million dollars — their targets."