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Municipalities surrounding Calgary caught between increasing RCMP costs, unknowns of potential provincial force

'A lot of municipalities feel that we're stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea'

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Some Calgary-area municipalities that rely on the RCMP for policing services are calling for federal aid, with significant impending increases to their community safety costs.

The RCMP’s union and federal government ratified a new collective agreement in August, which will see Mounties get more than four years of back pay and a 23 per cent pay bump over the next six years. The back pay alone could cost some municipalities upwards of $1 million, with no increased service or extra boots on the ground.

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Alberta Municipalities and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, alongside some individual local governments and the province, are calling on Ottawa to cover the retroactive costs.

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“This agreement was made without any meaningful involvement or discussion involving provincial or municipal governments beforehand,” said Alex Puddifant, the spokesman for Alberta Justice Minister Kaycee Madu.

“Our government believes that the federal government is responsible for paying the retroactive portion of the pay raise dating back to 2016 and is currently talking to our neighbours in other provinces about this matter.”

Okotoks Mayor Tanya Thorn said the town is estimating between $1 million and $1.5 million in back pay costs. If the feds don’t kick in to help cover it, Okotokians could see a tax hike between three and five per cent.

Additionally, Thorn said she has had no word from the RCMP or the feds on how payment will work if costs eventually fall on municipalities alone.

“If they aren’t going to pay for it … what are the payment terms?” she said.

“Are you going to send us the invoice and we need to cut you the cheque that month? Or are we going to get the invoice with a timeline and a payment process laid out so we could do it over a couple of years, potentially?”

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Like other municipal leaders, Cochrane Mayor Jeff Genung isn’t concerned about the pay increase over the next six years but said the retro pay is “money out of the bank that could have been funding other projects.”

“We understood there was going to be a negotiation and unionization and likely an increase to pay, which I say we believe was deserved,” said Genung.

“But the retro pay is another thing. In Cochrane’s case, we have reserves that we can draw from, but it’s basically robbing from something new or something else we’re saving for, to pay this in the interim.”

Town of Cochrane sign west of Calgary, Alta. on Tuesday January 14, 2014.
Town of Cochrane sign west of Calgary, Alta. on Tuesday January 14, 2014. Photo by David Feil /SunMedia

This year, Chestermere will likely have to break its lengthy streak of tax cuts due to the new RCMP costs. City staff have proposed a two per cent tax hike, the first increase in four years. Second-term councillor Ritesh Narayan said this is a legacy issue in Chestermere, which historically has kept tax hikes low or non-existent.

“Our challenge is that our residential tax base is quite massive — 95 per cent — and our commercial is only five per cent. So any form of increase (to the RCMP budget) means an increase in taxes,” said Narayan, who is also a criminal justice professor at Mount Royal University.

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“The province is also talking about provincial policing, and that’s a completely different can of worms.”

According to a September news release, the City of Airdrie estimates it will pay about $4 million in back pay, equating to a 6.35 per cent jump on residents’ tax bills. On top of that, the new pay rate for Mounties would increase the city’s policing costs by $1.2 million, meaning a further 1.8 per cent hike for taxpayers.

“These extra costs imposed on Alberta’s under-served communities are exactly why this government is studying the feasibility of establishing an Alberta provincial police service so that communities can get the service they need, without surprise costs imposed by Ottawa,” said Puddifant.

Some, including Narayan, aren’t so sure a provincial force will be the answer local governments are looking for as far as price goes, despite Premier Jason Kenney’s promises it won’t cost any more than the RCMP does currently.

“A lot of municipalities feel that we’re stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea,” said Narayan, the devil being the high costs of the RCMP and the deep blue sea being the unknowns of a provincial force.

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“I think (provincial policing) would end up costing municipalities a lot more than what we’re paying right now.”

If the province does establish its own police force, it would be without the approximately $170 million, roughly 30 per cent, Ottawa currently kicks in for RCMP services in Alberta. A study conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers released by the province in October estimates Alberta could be on the hook for approximately $200 million more annually than what provincial and municipal governments currently spend, as well as substantial transition costs.

“I am not unhappy at all with the service we’re receiving from the RCMP,” said Genung. “Unless it’s going to save Albertans millions of dollars, I don’t see the benefit.”

Postmedia’s request for comment from the federal Department of Justice was not returned before publication.

mrodriguez@postmedia.com

Twitter:  @michaelrdrguez

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