Kamloops council calling for new RCMP funding model

KAMLOOPS — Two Kamloops city councillors are advocating for a new funding model for the RCMP, as they say municipalities are being forced to respond to rapidly increasing police costs that are out of their control.

The motion from Councillors Kelly Hall and Katie Neustaeter is calling on municipalities — through the Southern Interior Local Government Association (SILGA) and the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) — to request that the provincial government “develop a reasonable shared costing agreement” so municipalities are able to better cover their share of the policing budget.

It also said that while the federal and provincial governments have a number of ways to raise revenue, municipalities are limited to the “single and archaic mechanism of property taxes.”

“So much of this is about saying, ‘This is wrong and municipalities cannot stand up under this pressure,’” Neustaeter said. “It’s 25 per cent of our local budget when it’s not even within our purview and we have no control over the costs.”

“A lot of this is amplifying the voice and saying, ‘This problem has been out of our control but we’re willing to come to a solution together.’”

According to the City of Kamloops, the RCMP is the largest item in the annual budget, accounting for 25 per cent of the the total costs. City staff say $34.6 million of the proposed 2025 operating budget is earmarked for the RCMP contract, a figure which grows to $40.5 million when costs for items like municipal support staff are added.

Earlier this year, Kamloops voted to partially defer the hiring of some new RCMP officers until the middle of this year, in a bid to reduce the tax burden on citizens. That decision is expected to save taxpayers about $750,000.

Under the current funding model, Kamloops has to pay 90 per cent of operational costs for the RCMP, with the province picking up the remaining 10 per cent. That model applies to all B.C. municipalities with populations over 15,000 that use the RCMP as their local police.

The motion said while municipalities recognize police forces need to be “effectively funded” given the increase in crime and vandalism, they’re also “unable to implement their direction because of shocking, mandated cost increases.”

“We see it at the budget table… The latest one is the body camera, for example,” Hall said Tuesday, referencing the implementation of police-worn body cameras that began in early December. “In conversations with Superintendent [Jeff] Pelley and with CAO [Byron] McCorkell, it just seemed that we need to do something as a community.”

There are 12 B.C. communities that have their own municipal police forces that allow them to have more of a say into costs. Those communities, though, are also responsible for 100 per cent of the costs.

City council voted unanimously in favour of the motion, which is expected to be discussed further at the upcoming SILGA convention in Merritt.

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The following is the entire motion from Councillors Katie Neustaeter and Kelly Hall.

Whereas the ability for Municipal Governments to respond to rapidly increasing police costs and our limited mechanism to manage payment is creating significant hardship on municipal budgets;

And whereas local governments recognize the critical need for a police force that can be effectively funded, particularly as crime increases under current provincial and federal policies;

And whereas some BC communities have already adopted their own policing forces to try and better manage unaffordable, imposed costs;

And whereas the contracted RCMP police model is dependent on a formula for regulating cost-sharing that leaves cities at the mercy of the contractor with little influence over the contract decisions and negotiations that dictate them;

And whereas local governments have demonstrated good faith by creating responsible methods for increasing RCMP services, but are unable to implement their direction because of shocking, mandated cost increases;

And whereas local governments are restricted to revenue generation through the single and archaic mechanism of property taxes, unlike senior levels of government which have an array of options for taxation;

And whereas municipal governments are challenged in meeting certain responsibilities within our purview due to budget restraints caused by a disproportionate percentage of municipal budgets required for RCMP costs;

And whereas the police agreement is a three-party agreement between municipal, provincial, and federal governments;

BE IT RESOLVED that the Southern Interior Local Government Association (SILGA), through the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM), request the provincial government develop a reasonable shared costing agreement for fees associated with policing that better reflects available revenue streams, contract controls, policy influence, and current policing needs to improve municipal governments’ ability to meet the budgetary demands within their legislated purview.