The Vancouver Province is reporting that Mayors around B.C. say they've been blindsided by escalating costs associated with the new 20-year deal the provincial government signed with the RCMP.
In Surrey, which has the largest RCMP detachment in the country, that cost is estimated to add $6 million to $8 million to the city's budget. Mayor Dianne Watts is upset that Surrey has no say in the salary increases, even though her city has signed the agreement. "There should have been a whole-some discussion," Watts told the Surrey Now. "We got a memo."
Mayor Richard Walton said North Vancouver District will not meet the end-of-April deadline to sign on to have the RCMP continue to provide his municipality with policing services. The 20-year deal was signed March 21 by provincial Justice Minister Shirley Bond and federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews.
It puts the 62 municipalities in B.C. that contract with the RCMP on the hook for annual pay raises of 1.75 per cent, 1.5 per cent and two per cent, starting Jan. 1 of this year.
Shirley Bond and Vic Toews? God help us. Those raises don't sound huge. It would be interesting to get a break down of what other salaries and expenses are like. I have heard a lot about the cost of the RCMP compared to Regional Forces. Perhaps Regional policing will be inevitable.
This was an opportunity lost once again. An opportunity to do the right thing and amalgamate the police across the Lower Mainland. While we are at it maybe amalgamate the governments and associated services? Hell no, every other city in North America is wrong but the GVRD has it right!! 11 police forces and territorial mayors delving in to Provincial issues such as bridges and tunnels - pure genius.
ReplyDeleteLets face it, one GVRD police force would have stopped Picton in his tracks long before the bodies stacked up, or should I say, got ground up. But hey, lets keep blaming Vancouver's disproportionately higher petty crime rate on the weather, a very well used cop out. The 'course of natural justice' is seriously diverted when one can sell crack on the steps of the VPD Main St station unimpeded yet get busted/harassed in West Van simply for wearing a faded jean jacket and having long hair.
Oppal twice, as the AG brought amalgamation to the Union of Municipalities meetings and got the issues voted down. Someone in the Provincial government MUST take a stance and make this happen, not let the empire builders/mayors vote on something that THEY are in complete conflict over.
I'm not sure it is over. It appears that north Van is pulling out and the local mayors are free to do so.
DeleteThursday, April 12, 2012
ReplyDeleteAK: "RCMP Costs shock local Mayors"
freddy Apr 7, 2012 01:48 PM
"Some problems on the RCMP funding front, the RC's planned huge wage increases for themselves it seems;"
Thanks a lot.
I'm not sure of their math. I don't see how 1.5, 1.75 and 2.0 % is a Huge increase. There must be other things hidden in the contract.
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