While the City of Estevan is expecting to cut spending from its general operating budget by about one per cent, the Estevan Police Service is not the place that is finding the most savings.
With projected 2015 budget expenditures of just under $4.8 million, the local police service would see its spending increase by more than 20 per cent from its actual 2013 expenses. The net operating budget is a 3.9 per cent increase over last year’s budget. Like some other areas of the City, EPS is continuing to play catch up to growth with which it hadn’t previously kept stride.
EPS Chief Paul Ladouceur’s budget report to council, which outlined the Board of Police Commissioner’s 2015 budget recommendations passed by council at their special sitting on Jan. 26, noted EPS has not kept up with the growth experienced in the City. The coming year will be part of an attempt to address some of the gaps.
The issues aren’t necessarily just Estevan’s. Many facets of policing are changing, and many of those require more time or resources. Ultimately, taxpayers are expected to cover the cost of this evolution.
Ladouceur’s report noted “technological advances and new investigative tools require training, equipment and human resource specialization, new laws increase enforcement requirements, court rulings have impacted the time required to support prosecutions, provincial and federal government legislative and policy changes have impacted the type of calls for service and policing boundaries have opened up (joint forces operations).”
With many forces adding financial stress to city police services, Ladouceur said EPS is seeking to “contain” increases to those that are necessary.
City council approved the EPS’s $190,000 capital budget for the coming year. That will include upgrades to the police station facility as well as office equipment. That budget also includes a new SUV to be used in inclement weather and acquiring necessary equipment to outfit the new warrant entry and containment team.
Though policing is hardly a moneymaking enterprise for the City, Ladouceur did address council of some of the increases to revenue that can be expected in the coming year.
Revenue increases in 2015 are expected to come from changes to criminal record checks and other increases in EPS services.
One thing the EPS does is look after prisoners outside of the city police’s jurisdiction along with RCMP prisoners as well. An increase to those rates in 2015 will have EPS seeing a modest increase in revenue.
EPS is also going to receiving new funding from SGI to aid in establishing an integrated traffic unit. SGI is funding the officer for about $260,000, which covers the salary and vehicle for one of the officers.
“It will operate both within the city of Estevan and outside the city of Estevan as well, working in partnership with the RCMP,” said Ladouceur.
In 2015, EPS will see the development of a number of programs, including a drug enforcement and intelligence unit, the integrated traffic unit, a warrant entry and containment team, and the creation of an elder abuse co-ordinator.
Heading into this year, the police service includes 34 permanent and six casual positions.
