New emergency comms hub approved following back-and-forth over cost

Now that the Region of Waterloo 2026 budget has passed, some reported scrutiny has begin.

It seems like most of that questions are aimed at the $176M ask on the police service’s capital budget to build the new emergency services communications hub.

It was a hotly-debated topic which saw Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic table a motion at budget committee to send the spending plan back to the Police Services Board to lower the price tag.

The motion was defeated and committee approved the capital portion.

The capital budget was brought up again at council when discussing the general budget. The capital portion was voted down, despite committee approval. A recess was called and immediately after drama erupted when North Dumfries Mayor Sue Foxton asked to change her original vote against to a vote for.

In the end, the entire 2026 budget passed, meaning the communications hub would be coming.

Police Service’s Board Chair Ian McLean was a guest on The Mike Farwell Show to talk about the hub and shed more light on the boards decision making.

“The budget estimate that we put forward to the Region stands on its own merit. It stands on the basis of comprehensive consultation and hard work by the staff and also the due diligence of the Board itself,” he said. “As we always do, we put police through their paces on the request they are making.”

McLean said the entire process was carefully thought-out and vetted.

“The Board has done it’s due diligence very thoroughly. Any suggestion to the contrary is a crock,” he said, arguing the hub is required in the community.

According to McLean, the intention is that should disaster strike and nothing else is working, police will answer the phone and will be able to coordinate with other emergency services.

Talk about a new communications hub began back in 2012 after a fatal helicopter crash at the Waterloo Region Airport exposed issues with inter-service communication.

That’s why McLean said nothing about the project should come as a surprise to anyone.

“We have been talking about the need for this facility for 13 years,” he said citing several reports and board discussions on the topic. “We’ve asked the tough questions. We’ve asked about the options and you can be assured we’ve done the due diligence of saying: What is the right thing, not only for the police, but for the community itself?”