Codiac RCMP spending rises to $39M in proposed 2022 budget
Budget presented to Riverview council shows increase from $34 million this year
The proposed budget for the Codiac Regional RCMP shows spending on the force rising to $39 million next year, up from $34 million this year.
The proposed Codiac Regional Policing Authority budget was presented to Riverview councillors Thursday evening as part of the town's budget deliberations. The authority oversees the force that polices Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview.
"Overall we're asking for a significant increase compared to other years," Nagesh Jammula, the policing authority's treasurer, told councillors. "The main reason for that is the RCMP union settlement that happened in the past six months."
The National Police Federation, the RCMP union, and the federal Treasury Board signed the force's first collective agreement in August that includes a salary increase of 23.7 per cent over six years. The agreement is retroactive, starting in 2017, and ends March 31, 2023.
The National Police Federation has said the contract brings RCMP pay closer to the salaries paid to municipal police officers.
Under the RCMP's 2016 pay scale, a first class constable would earn $86,110. That rises to $106,576 by next April. A corporal who made $94,292 in 2016 would see their pay rise to $116,703 next year.
The policing authority had set aside $3.5 million to cover retroactive pay increases. The amount was based on an assumed 2.5 per cent annual wage increase, though the actual increase is higher. Jammula said that led to a $1.4 million shortfall that needed to be covered.
The proposed budget shows spending rising from $34,632,344 this year to $39,484,413.
The budget shows salaries and benefits for Codiac's 147 members rising from $17,362,258 in the 2021 budget to $19,384,489 in 2022. It also includes a $224,000 increase for fuel, supplies, equipment and vehicles.
Increasing cost for police holding cells
The federal government, which provides a 10 per cent subsidy, is increasing its cost share by $353,000 because of the overall increase in spending.
The budget also includes $1.5 million for "cell mitigation," which Jammula said is because of a need for the holding cells at the detachment to be regularly staffed by an officer and for janitorial services.
"That's to make sure that we have someone there so that the prisoners are not hurting themselves?" Coun. Cecile Cassista asked during the meeting about the budget line.
"That's right," Jammula said.
The policing authority budget affects the municipal budgets of the three communities.
Under the policing contract, Moncton will pay 70.7 per cent of the $39 million budget, with Dieppe paying 18.3 per cent and Riverview covering 10.9 per cent.
Budget talks in Dieppe and Moncton take place in the coming months.
The increase in the day-to-day operations cost of policing comes as the region has yet to make a decision on whether to go ahead with building a new Codiac RCMP station.
The cost, once pegged at $46 million, has risen to $57 million. Moncton councillors are expected to discuss plans for the new station at a council meeting Monday evening.