City council passes $106M Regina police budget for 2024

After more than fivehours of debate, Regina city councilpassed theRegina Police Service's 2024 budget Wednesday in a 9-2 vote.

The police budget was the first thing on the agenda Wednesday morning as Regina city council began the lengthy budgetary approvalprocess that closes out the municipal calendar.

Regina Police Service Deputy Chief Dean Rae recounted the back-and-forth process between the service and the Board of Police Commissionersthat ultimately led to theoverall $106.1-million budgetpassed by city council.

"We looked at last year's budget and assumed we would have no problem getting it through [council] because it was a two-year budget cycle, and as a result we ended up going back and forth three times," said Rae, who served as interim police chief after Evan Bray's retirement in June.

The original proposal includeda request to hire 12 new officers and one civilian staff member, which wasreduced to hiring six new officers funded by the city and one civilian staff member.

The provincial government will also fund two more Regina police officers under the budget passedWednesday.

Recruitment remains an issue for the Regina Police Service, Rae said.

"Within the next three to five years, along with growth, we'll have substantial need due to retirement as well," he said.

Rae said the police serviceplans to ask that the six officers dropped from the budget proposal this year be added to the2025 budget request.

With the approval of six new officers for 2024, the servicewill have hired 56 officers since 2019, according to data shared during the budget debate.

The net operating budget passed by council was$102.7 millionan increase of $4.6million, or 4.7 per cent, from last year, but a drop from what was originally agreed to as part of the city's multi-year budgeting process.

According to the police service, 86 per cent of theoperating budget is dedicated to salaries.

In comparison,50 per cent of theCity of Regina's operational budget istied to salaries.

The police service's capital budget also passed on Wednesday, set at$3.4 million for 2024.

There will be a corresponding increase to the five-year police service capital plan by $3.8 million.

Regina police ChiefFarooq Hassan Sheikh took a back seat during the presentation of thebudget. He was sworn in on Dec. 1, and so has had very little input on the budget itself.

Sheikh told media on Tuesday after the Regina Board of Police Commissioners meeting that he has spent the last two weeks getting to know the staff and plans to get out in the community in the new year.