After asking for a 5.58 percent or a $565,322 increase in their 2022 budget from 2021 levels, the Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) has tentatively reported a budget surplus of close to $290,000.
“We have spent 97.73 percent (of budgeted amounts),” MJPS Chief Rick Bourassa told Tuesday afternoon's monthly meeting of the Moose Jaw Board of Police Commissioners (MJBPC).
“It leaves us a surplus currently of several hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said.
Chief Bourassa cautioned that although there was a $288,273 surplus ($188,253 not spent in the budget plus about $100,000 in revenues still coming in) there are still a few bills yet to be paid for 2022.
The budget summary presented at Tuesday's meeting was preliminary with the year-end to be completed in February.
Chief Bourassa pointed out several major expenditures in 2022.
“There was a pretty significant over expenditure maintenance in vehicle maintenance,” he said.
Originally budgeted to spend $220,000 in 2022 the MJPS spent $290,102.97 or 131.86 percent of the budgeted amount.
Chief Bourassa said the amount was up because the MJPS was spending more to maintain police vehicles mechanically because they have been unable to source new vehicles and must keep the vehicles they have now longer.
Another reason for spending over the budgeted amount for vehicke maintenance is the cost of fuel is included in the budget category.
“We anticipate a significant in fuel prices in 2021 (once total amounts spent are tabulated). We are expecting a little bit lower in 2023,” he said.
Another area that saw a major overexpediture than budgeted is education and training. The MJPS spent $95,792.85 on an item line budgeted at $60,000 or 159.65 percent of the budgeted amount.
Chief Bourassa said the amount was spent because the MJPS had not been able to train over the past few years and were playing catchup plus there was an uptick in officers taking other training.
The contract for the MJPS includes the force paying for educational upgrading members take.
Police Commissioner Mayor Clive Tolley asked about an increase on the cost of meals for prisoners.
Commissioner Tolley asked if it was because the price of food had gone up.
In 2022 the MJPS spent $5954.27 with only $4,000 budgeted or a 148.86 percent expenditure on that budget line.
The Commissioners were told some if it was because the price of food had gone up but also it was because the MJPS was on occasion holding prisoners for longer.
Moose Jaw generally serves as a transit point with prisoners who are to remain in remand most often to the Regina Correctional Centre's remand unit.
Chief Bourassa said the MJPS is reimbursed when they hold prisoners for the RCMP.
Commissioner Tolley asked which restaurant is selected, if they use any, gets to provide meals.
Superintendent Devon Oleniuk that the prisoners are fed microwaveable meals for safety reasons.
Mayor Tolley is well-known for rotating what restaurants provide meals to City Hall in an effort to be fair to all businesses.
No knives and forks are provided, making it a safer option.
Superintendent Oleniuk did say the meals have been harder to source due to supply chain problems with stores like Superstore.
All surplus funds go to the MJPS Accumulated Surplus account and are not returned to the City of Moose Jaw coffers.
The current balance of the MJPS's Accumulated Surplus at December 31, 2022 was not available as it is yet to be determined.
The Accumulated Surplus is invested and in 2020 it earned $27,797.76 and in 2021 it earned $21,239.17 I investment earnings.
The MJPS's Accumulated Surplus was highlighted during the recent 2023 City of Moose Jaw Budget deliberations with Council initially rejecting the initial budget.
For 2023, the Board Of Police Commissioners initially asked for a 5.49 percent increase or $612,933 increase over 2022 funding levels.
The initial budget request by the Board Of Police Commissioners was rejected by Council.
A reworked budget was able to find over $50,000 in savings for 2023.
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