Vancouver city council finalizes $5.7M police budget increase without raising taxes
CTV
After more than a year of fighting over the Vancouver Police Department's budget, city council has finalized how it will pay for a $5.7 million increase.
After more than a year of fighting over the Vancouver police budget, city council has finalized how it will pay a $5.7 million funding increase owed to the department.
During Tuesday’s meeting, council voted to take the money from the city's reserves, instead of increasing property taxes. Both options were on the table.
The dispute started when council voted to freeze a funding increase for the VPD in the 2021 operating budget. At the time, the move was described by the Vancouver Police Board as a "$5.7 million cut" and the Vancouver Police Board appealed it with the province.
The province decided the $5.7 million should be restored to the police department's budget, effectively overturning council’s decision.
“I know it was a bit of a shock to all of us that the province decided to make that decision,” Mayor Kennedy Stewart said during Tuesday’s meeting. “Councils really have no discretion over requests from the police board.”
The question has lingered over where council would get the money from. A staff report suggested property taxes for 2023 could be increased by 0.6 per cent, which would be on top of the 6.35 per cent increase already approved in the 2022 budget.
It was ultimately recommended council take the money from council reserves - often referred to as the "rainy day" fund. A staff report revealed that fund was sitting at $33 million at the end of 2021, but it still below the target level of between $100 and $200 million. “Prior to the pandemic, the city’s reserve was within the target level,” the report said.
