Winnipeg Police Service projects $6.5M year-end deficit

The Winnipeg Police Service is projecting a $6.5-million year-end deficit, but it's not yet clear what effect that will have on the city's finances.

The police service's second-quarter financial report, posted as part of a police board meeting agenda on Friday, projects a $6.5-million deficit on its $446-million budget due to factors ranging from additional costs associated with the new police headquarters on Graham Avenue to a drop in photo-enforcement revenue and a potential summer overtime tab.

The police service is practising vacancy management — that is, not filling some positions — in an effort to reduce the year-end deficit, the report states.

The projected deficit for the police service is a separate issue from what was described as a "budget shortfall" earlier this year, when the police service desired more funding than it received from the city.

At the end of the 2016 fiscal year, the city looks at its overall financial picture, which usually involves budget surpluses in some departments that cancel out deficits in others. It is more common for the city to post year-end surpluses than it is to post deficits.