Hamilton police board wants to hear your thoughts on service's $213M budget for 2024

The Hamilton Police Services Board is accepting written submissions from the public ahead of its special meeting about the service's proposed $213 million budget.

The Feb. 13 meeting is taking place after Hamilton city councillors sent the budget back the board for further review. The last time councillors did so was in 2011.

Policing costs account for 16 per cent of the average property tax bill — the largest component of the city's budget. Coun. Craig Cassar said late last month, as council voted to have the budget proposal reviewed, that "in an unprecedented tax increase it makes sense to ask all individuals to look for efficiencies." 

The deadline to submit written delegations is midnight on Thursday,  Feb. 8. The board asks you to send them to kirsten.stevenson@hamilton.ca, with your name, address and either phone number or email address.

Following the Feb. 13 meeting, council is expected to vote on the overall budget on Feb. 15.

Pat Mandy, chair of the board, told CBC Hamilton she was "not surprised" by the recent decision by councillors.

• Want to see the full line-by-line proposed budget? Read it at the bottom of the story.

The proposed budget includes $206,921,005, the combined operating and capital budget, and an additional $6,501,640 to cover imposed costs related to the police services act.

It's $20 million more than the 2023 budget, but if you exclude imposed costs from the police services act, the total request is a $13 million or 6.88 per cent increase. (However on Sunday, Coun. Cameron Kroestch said on X, formerly Twitter, that the exact reported increase may be incorrect. He said he is reviewing the figure but the city has recently told him the total ask may be in fact $16.7 million instead of $19.8 million more than last year.)

During the police board's meeting mid December, Chief Frank Bergen described the police ask as a "maintenance budget."

At the time, a majority of the police board approved of the budget.

The only votes against it came from Dr. Anjali Menezes and Kroetsch, who both sit on the budget committee.

Kroetsch has spoken out publicly with concerns the board does not do a proper job of scrutinizing the budget.

Talks of pushing back against the police budget have been brewing within city council.

A year ago, councillors mulled over what options there were to reject the budget.

Staff at the time said if the police board and the city could not decide on a budget, the board could appeal the city's decision to the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC).

Staff said the police boards tend to win those appeals.

At the time, the OCPC also told CBC Hamilton that in the past 20 years, Hamilton police haven't filed an appeal.

The full proposed Hamilton police budget for 2024