For a while Monday it appeared as if North Battleford had gotten an early Christmas present from the province for police initiatives.
The provincial government put out a news release announcing the City was one of nine communities in Saskatchewan receiving funding from the province for targeted police initiatives, receiving $735,000 in funding for 2013-14. It was part of $13.6 million invested in targeted police initiatives across the province, according to the release.
At first glance it appeared the province had stepped forward to address North Battleford's demands for more funds towards public safety initiatives, in response to recent crime incidents and crime severity index numbers.
But sometimes news releases can be too good to be true, and that was the case this time.
At Monday's council meeting, City Manager Jim Toye confirmed the $735,000 amount was actually not new funding at all, but an existing annual grant from the province to go towards funding seven RCMP police officers who were already hired for the Battlefords detachment.
"That's not new money. That's old money we've been receiving for a couple of years," Toye said.
Provincial officials also confirmed the $735,000 is an amount allocated annually.
The bottom line for the City, Toye says, is they are still seeking additional resources from the province to go towards public safety for the 2014-15 fiscal year.
The indication from MLA Herb Cox last week was that more meetings between the City and province were pending on that issue in the coming weeks.
Toye confirmed to reporters following Monday's council meeting that the City expects to meet with the province again before they set their budget.
"Certainly we're on the radar," said Toye.
The City has also requested a meeting with Steven Blaney, federal minister for public safety, to discuss the situation in North Battleford.
"We are requesting assistance from both the federal and provincial governments," Toye said.
