Regional council votes down motion to ask police to cut $4M from 2025 budget

Waterloo regional councillors have voted down a motion that would have asked the Waterloo Regional Police Service to cut $4 million from its proposed 2025 budget.

The motion was brought before the administration and finance committee by Coun. Rob Deutschmann last week and was deferred to a meeting on Tuesday. The motion asked council to consider requesting the cut, reducing the net levy impact to no more than $248,468,301.

"There's one taxpayer, there's one budget and policing is part of our one budget," Deutschmann said. 

Deutschmann said the motion comes amidst a regional budget struggle as regional council has spent the past several weeks proposing cuts to services and searching for savings.

"We're asking that police, the board, do the same with respect to their budget," he said.

North Dumfries Mayor Sue Foxton said she originally supported the motion, but wanted to reach out to police to ask their thoughts. 

"In doing so I found out they decreased by $6.3 million," she said.

Foxton said police told her they saved the money through a number of reductions, including a full-time job position, training expenses, purchase delays for equipment and a vehicle and other non-pressing investments.

"I do not see that they need to do a further $4 million, understanding that," she said.

That sentiment was carried by Coun. Doug Craig, who also sits on the police board.

He said the police budget is sitting at an 8.4 per cent increase whereas the region's budget is sitting at a much higher 10.4 per cent.

"Really what we're doing is we're deflecting away from what the real issue is," said Craig. "And that's the regional budget."

Craig said he wouldn't support a regional budget increase of 10 or 11 per cent, and that to remedy the budget issues, he suggested deferring it to January.

"I think the police budget sits where it does and they've done, I think, an excellent job at reducing their budget," Craig said.

Speaking in support of the motion was Coun. Chantal Huinink, who said that she understands that police likely need the money, but it's an issue of affordability.

"We can't afford it anymore than we can afford $2 million in perpetuity to the food bank, who also needs money," she said.

Referring to a rural and small town and subsidy for a spike in OPP costs, Huinink said that the province "should in good faith kick money into this [police budget] as well."

Deutschmann said that since 2019, the council has done a "significant amount of work with respect to supporting our police."

But he said he has concerns about transparency. He said that police "deliberately" stopped publishing quarterly personnel reports and they've broken promises in regards to hiring.

"You can't say that you have faith when you are purposely denied information," Deutschmann said. "Where is the oversight? You can't tell me there's oversight."

Coun. Sandy Shantz, who also sits on the police board, called out Deutschmann for his characterization of the police board, saying it's made up of upstanding citizens who do well in their task of managing police affairs.

"I would say those comments were very unfair, uncalled for, and unprofessional," Shantz said.

The motion was defeated 9-6.

Regional council is expected to finalize its 2025 budget during a meeting on Dec. 11.