Toronto police budget hike decision deferred

The Toronto Police Services Board has opted to defer a decision on a request to increase the force's budget at a time when all city departments are being asked to tighten belts by Mayor Rob Ford.

The board, a seven-member civilian body that oversees the Toronto Police Service, held its first meeting of the new year on Wednesday to discuss, among other things, a request from Chief Bill Blair for a three per cent budget increase.

Based on the force's 2010 budget of $888.2 million — second only to the Toronto Transit Commission in city expenditures — that amounts to a bump of $26.7 million.

That increase is meant to cover increases forced by collective agreements and staffing obligations — 88.5 per cent of the force's budget relates to labour costs. It does not reflect any new policies or initiatives, Blair said.

It also doesn't include any possible wage increases to be addressed in contract negotiations that take place later this year.

But Ford is asking for a five per cent decrease in city spending across the board, a request that police director of finance Angelo Cristofaro said wasn't binding to the force.

"It was in the guideline, the minus five per cent reduction, but we weren't asked by the city to come forward with a minus five budget," he said.

"So a guideline is simply an indication — in terms of your view — not specifically a direct request to have a five per cent reduction," replied Coun. Michael Thompson, the new vice-chair of the board.

Blair won't cut staff

Thompson asked if there was any way Blair could conceive of a five per cent cut.

"The mayor has ran on a campaign of ... stopping the gravy train. And I think part of what we really need to be doing — we need to make sure that the wheels of that train [are] greased with efficiency," he said at the meeting.

But Blair said meeting the city's demands would mean cutting the force's staff by 800 people .

"I don't have the legal authority to reduce the number of police officers or the level of policing services in this city," he said.

The force currently employs just over 5,600 officers and 2,068 civilian staff, and the chief hopes to maintain those staffing levels.

Former Toronto mayor John Sewell, a member of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, a civilian watchdog group, said the cuts could make police more productive.

"It will improve policing immensely in Toronto because policing doesn't get better when the police get all the money they want with not enough questions being asked," he said.

Thompson requested more time to comb through the budget, and the board will take up the matter at its next meeting, on Tuesday, a day after a preliminary draft of the city's operating budget is set to be presented to council's budget committee.