Inflation affected the Moose Jaw Police Service’s budget so much last year that the agency was forced to change how it fed prisoners in the detention cells.
Last year the police service (MJPS) budgeted $4,000 in expenses for prisoner meals, but by Dec. 31, it had spent $5,954.27, which meant it was 48.86 per cent over budget.
The reasons for this increase are that food costs were higher than projected and because the MJPS held prisoners in detention cells for longer than anticipated since it is a regional correctional centre for other police agencies, Police Chief Rick Bourassa explained during the Jan. 16 Board of Police Commissioners meeting while discussing the agency’s 2022 budget summary.
“We do bill back to the RCMP and to the province for some of those costs when housing their people, so that will be recovered in the revenues throughout the year,” he said.
“So we will have revenues that offset some of that expenditure — but not all of it. If there are people that are only incarcerated on our behalf, we cover the full cost.”
The MJPS had been using community restaurants for many years to provide meals for prisoners, Bourassa added, but it has moved to a different process.
The agency is now using ready-made microwavable food — frozen meals from grocery stores — to ensure it doesn’t have to provide utensils to prisoners, which could be a safety issue, said Supt. Devon Oleniuk. Going this route also allows the police service to buy products in bulk to make it more financially feasible.
“Interesting to note right now, it’s a bit of a challenge even fulfilling that with supply-chain demands,” he continued. “And a lot of those frozen things that are microwaveable are just simply not readily available. We’ll continue to be diligent to meet that need.”
Vehicle maintenance
Another area that had “significant overage” in the budget last year was vehicle maintenance, Bourassa said.
The police service had budgeted $220,000, but by Dec. 31, it had spent $290,102.97, which meant it was 31.86 per cent beyond budget.
The MJPS hasn’t been able to acquire new vehicles because of supply-chain problems, so it continues to use older squad cruisers that require more repairs, while fuel costs were higher than anticipated, he continued. While the organization expects fewer gasoline-related pressures in 2023, it has budgeted accordingly.
Other overages
Other areas in the police service’s budget that were more than planned included (budgeted vs. actual and percentage over):
- Travel and conventions: $5,000 / $8,377.18 / 67.54 per cent
- Education and training: $60,000 / $95,792.85 / 59.65 per cent
- Subscription and fees: $2,500 / $4,197.14 / 67.89 per cent
- Computer software: $290,000 / $348,563.95 / 20.19 per cent
- Clothing: $95,000 / $109,499.23 / 15.26 per cent
- Victim Services: $95,000 / $107,304.07 / 12.95 per cent
- Radio communications: $8,000 / $10,235.56 / 27.94 per cent
- Janitorial supplies: $7,000 / $7,741.39 / 10.59 per cent
Education and training costs rose because the agency could not send members on courses during the pandemic, so it was playing catch-up, said Bourassa. For example, it’s expensive to send members to Ottawa for training on child exploitation matters. Moreover, many officers also pursued graduate degrees, so the MJPS covers their tuition costs.
While there are financial pressures with education and training, they are valuable since they provide the agency with better service, he added.
The next Board of Police Commissioners meeting is Thursday, Feb. 9.
