As Metro struggles to cover increased costs, commissioner says policing comes down to 'raising taxes or cutting officers'

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BY ALAN COCHRANE
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

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The Codiac Regional RCMP budget for 2009 is already trimmed to the bare bones and there are only two ways to deal with it -- raise taxes or cut the number of officers in Metro Moncton -- commissioner Kent Robinson said yesterday.

"The cold, hard fact is that the increases that are there are out of our control. We're just passing on the increases from the RCMP federally," Robinson said in an interview with the Times & Transcript yesterday.

"I sympathize with the municipalities who are trying to cover the cost in their budgets but what it comes down to is raising taxes or cutting officers. And if it comes to that, the community will have to tell us what services will be reduced. I imagine the first things to go would be to take officers out of schools or the DARE (drug awareness) programs, the proactive police programs that help reduce crime rates. So, in the short term, the community could save money, but proactive programs reduce crime rates so, in the long term, crime rates will go up."

Robinson, a Moncton lawyer, is chairman of the Codiac Regional Policing Authority, the board of directors which oversees the Codiac Regional RCMP, which serves Metro Moncton. One of the board's main duties is to take the costs associated with providing the RCMP contract service to Metro Moncton and blend it into an annual budget. The budget is then presented to the councils of Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe. The three communities share the cost of providing the service under a formula agreed to early in 2008.

Over the last 10 years, since the RCMP force replaced the Moncton Police Force, Dieppe Police Force and Riverview RCMP, the overall cost of providing the service has doubled, and the municipalities are having trouble finding enough money in their budgets to cover their share of the cost. Each year, the rising cost of RCMP service spurs lengthy debates among councillors and citizens.

According to the draft budget, total operating costs for the RCMP will be $20,677,514. That's $1,360,652 more than the $19,316,861 of the 2008 budget, an increase of 7.04 per cent.

The City of Dieppe this week accepted the RCMP budget and managed to balance its own budget without any increase in its tax rate for next year. Dieppe's share of the total RCMP budget is roughly $3 million.

The Town of Riverview has seen the RCMP budget and asked the authority to cap the increase at four per cent. Otherwise, residents of the town could see their tax rate go up slightly to help cover the extra cost. Riverview Mayor Clarence Sweetland said yesterday the town of 17,000 is expected to pay 11.7 per cent of the total cost, or $2.8 million. Sweetland said the cost is "going through the roof" and something needs to be done.

The policing authority has not yet presented the budget to Moncton City Council. The city is responsible for paying the lion's share of the $20 million.

Robinson says it will be up to the municipalities to make the choice of raising taxes or cutting officers. Either way, he says, there will be angry phone calls from residents and taxpayers. They'll either be mad because their taxes went up, or because they see a reduction in police service.

Robinson says the budget is so tight now there is no contingency for a major emergency. The Codiac Regional RCMP has to pay to bring in extra officers for big events like outdoor concerts, or specialized police teams from other regions.

The main reason for the seven per cent budget increase this year is the cost of officer salaries. Total salaries and benefits for the 145 RCMP and civilian employees in the 2009 budget are $13,357,957. That is $554,280 more than the $12,803,677 in the 2008 budget. Robinson said the budget allows for two new positions within the force this year: a business planner and a records clerk.

In total, there are 145 RCMP members on the force plus 3.5 civilian employees. According to the budget, there is one superintendent ($127,019), one inspector ($114,432), six staff sergeants ($96,975 each), six sergeants ($88,966), 22 corporals ($81,623) and 109 first-class constables ($74,539). The other staff members include a community program officer, a civilian radio technician and civilian communications advisor. Several other costs, like pension increases for more senior officers, help drive up the cost of salaries and benefits. There are also 48 support staff including 26 clerical and 24 telecom positions.

Robinson said the salaries are set by the RCMP pay council and based on a formula of comparing the top-paid police agencies in the country with Halifax being the closest to Metro Moncton. He said comparing the RCMP salaries to those of municipal forces is unfair because of several factors, including the fact that most unionized municipal officers work fewer hours per week than RCMP.

Other major items in the budget are car purchases, professional services, training, communications, equipment, repairs and maintenance, fuel and the rental fee on the Main Street police building which is owned by the city. The city increased the rent from $762,520 in 2008 to $797,180 in 2009. Extra money was put in the RCMP's operating budget this year to reflect the increased costs of fuel, cellphones, jail guards, vehicle rentals, aircraft leasing and vehicle purchases.