Regional police set to unveil $253M budget for 2025, nearly 9 per cent tax increase
Posted Oct 16, 2024 06:58:42 AM.
Last Updated Oct 16, 2024 09:28:31 AM.
The cost of public safety is in full focus as the Waterloo Regional Police Service Board unveils its budget for the next calendar year on Wednesday.
It’s a proposed $253 million budget for 2025, and a just under 9 per cent tax increase to support that blueprint.
The budget has increased by around 11 per cent in 2025, compared to the approximately $223 million budget for the year prior.
In terms of how that will affect people’s bottom line, the average resident of Waterloo Region could be paying about $70 more in property taxes next year, just under $850 total.
According to a report from the police services board, the majority of the budget (71 per cent) goes towards funding law enforcement and crime prevention, and just over a quarter (26 per cent) is used to fund infrastructure upgrades and costs associated with administration.
According to the board, a couple of factors contribute to that increase.
One of those is a staffing expansion, as it includes salary and benefits for the previously endorsed multiyear staffing plan for salaries to add 18 sworn officers and civilian support to the service.
The collective agreements for police service members will also expire at the end of 2024, and the board has included a just-over 3 per cent increase to the budget to account for bargaining on that front.
