WRPS scales back budget through attrition
Posted Jan 9, 2013 04:01:36 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Waterloo Regional Police Service will shrink its police force by eight constables through attrition over the next year in order to help meet their 2013 budget.
Chief Matt Torigian said those officers will not come from the front line.
“I can guarantee you one thing, and assure the community, what we wont drop is the quality of service. Our quality will continue to be … one of the, if not the best police service in Canada.”
Torigian said efficiencies will be found within the organization to meet this $1.3 million staffing cut. “If we are going to reduce in a particular branch or unit, we do it in an area where we’re not going to give up on the service that’s provided.”
“We’re very hopeful that we’re going to be able to keep and maintain the level of service we’re providing.”
“There was a bit of a perfect budget storm,” Torigian said, “that occurred as result of this budget and we’ve had to address some of the areas that needed to be addressed and as a result put some pressure in budget lines that required us to reduce on the uniformed side in order to increase on the civilian side.”
While savings were found in staffing, this police budget does ask for more money. As proposed, it will cost ratepayers an extra 1.75 per cent on the regional portion of their property tax bill.
Chair of the police board, Tom Galloway said the requested 2013 operating budget for Regional Police is 7 per cent more than 2012, sitting at just over $135 million. Which is roughly $3.2 million less than police administration had originally requested. On top of the staffing cuts, this money was found through the deferral of hiring new positions, and through an adjustment to the salary line on the budget, thanks to a re-calculation that found $1 million.
“I don’t like to predict too much, but I think it will probably be accepted with some reservation.” Galloway said. “It’s a difficult budget year, there will be no appreciable loss in service. 8 positions through attrition when you have 850 officers is not a huge amount.”
I think it’s a balanced approach to the economic times we are in, and trying to restrain the police spending as much as we can.”
The Region of Waterloo’s final budget day is next week, on January 16th.
AUDIO – WRPS Chief Matt Torigian
