During the Oct. 20 meeting of the Moose Jaw Board of Police Commissioners, Police Chief Rick Bourassa presented a request to increase the upcoming Moose Jaw Police Service budget for 2021.
In his presentation, Bourassa said the 2021 operating budget is estimating expenditures to total $12,183,194 and revenues to total $1,488,309, for a net total budget of $10,694,885.
This is an increase of $565,322, or 5.58 per cent, from the 2020 operating budget.
The MJPS then requested an increase of $216,920 in the 2021 budget to cover the cost of financial services currently provided by the city’s Financial Services Department, equating to a 2.14 per cent increase in the MJPS net budget and a corresponding decrease in the City of Moose Jaw’s budget.
Bourassa said that the 2021 budget will support the inclusion of two new MJPS positions, bringing the service’s total number of officers up from 59 to 61 and closer to the rate of officers seen in other Saskatchewan cities.
The new members will be a resource for the prevention and investigation of child abuse and child exploitation and the prevention and enforcement of laws to reduce illegal gangs, guns and drugs. Bourassa said that these are two very critical areas for Moose Jaw, which the MJPS is focusing on currently.
Both new officer positions will be filled by June, with members trained and on duty by January of 2022.
The board approved the 2021 operating budget with a unanimous vote.
Bourassa also shared details on the capital budget for 2021, which will receive a contracted increase of $2,500 in 2021 for a total of $70,000.
The budget will be used for upcoming and ongoing projects within the MJPS, including:
- a pre-emptive elevator upgrade;
- the relocation of the MJPS’s meeting room from a restricted area in the building to a public area;
- converting the darkroom into file storage;
- upgrading the conference room;
- upgrading the memorial area outside the building, following completion of upgrades to the flag area; and
- upgrades to the back wall of the firearms range, for safety.
The capital budget is also used as contingency funding for unanticipated occurrences, which Bourassa said this year will include the replacement of the air conditioner unit in the MJPS building on Fairford Street West.
Because the MJPS shares the building with City Hall, the two entities will split the cost of the upgrade. The MJPS requested $380,000 more in capital funds to cover its share of this project.
The Board of Police Commissioners also approved the capital budget, which will now move on to city council for approval.
