It’s uncertain whether Barrie will receive a provincial Christmas gift to help pay its policing costs next year.
Last month, the province announced it would be offering $77 million to 330 municipalities policed by the OPP to help offset what some local councils were calling unaffordable increases. This subsidy averages about $233,000 per municipality.
But municipalities with their own police forces, such as Barrie, are also facing expensive 2025 invoices — in the city’s case 6.99 per cent or $4.8 million more, for a tab of $72.34 million next year.
Mayor Alex Nuttall was asked by BarrieToday if the city has asked the province for funding, why or why not, and if so, how much and when would it be expected.
“Yes, we would request funding from the province,” he answered in an email. “However, at this time, it is uncertain whether the province will offer funding opportunities for municipal police services.
“We are closely monitoring provincial announcements and will pursue all available avenues,” Nuttall added.
Barrie’s police budget is usually about 20 per cent of the city’s total annual operating budget, and its most expensive item; the annual city operating/capital budgets set service levels and property tax increases in Barrie.
The Barrie Police Services Board, at its Dec. 4 meeting, discussed and approved a draft budget for 2025.
Police spending in 2025 still requires city council's approval in January, after that budget is presented to councillors and debated.
Leading into the Dec. 4 meeting, 2025 police budget spending had been projected at 5.79 per cent, or $3.9 million more, for a total of $71.43 million.
But a downtown deployment initiative, requiring seven full-time special constables and costing $910,787 annually, is the additional cost to the police budget which hiked the increase to 6.99 per cent from 5.79 per cent.
Barrie’s 2025 police budget also includes $486,000 for a five-year operating lease of new conductive energy devices, called Axon Taser 10s.
A projected $524,000 surplus in this year’s police budget, and an operating reserve of $887,000, are both funding sources to pay for the Tasers.
Barrie police continue to be busy, and the 2025 budget reflects that. Calls for service totalled 81,513 in 2023, 71,071 in 2022 and 73,622 in 2021, and 66,127 in 2020.
The 2025 police budget includes six new sworn officers.
Police officials have also said the budget increase is from the collective agreement, which pays their salaries and benefits, and the annualized cost of new officers.
Salaries and benefits are about 95 per cent of the entire police budget. At present, Barrie police has 250 sworn officers and 125 civilian members.
The 2024 police budget is $67.5 million, or a 6.78 per cent increase from 2023, when it was $63.24 million.
The police budget is part of the city budget, and thus requires council approval.
Councillors will receive 2025 budgets from city service partners — the County of Simcoe, city police and the Barrie Public Library — on Jan. 8, then hear presentations of these budgets Jan. 15.
General committee’s budget talks will be Jan. 22, with city council approval of the total operating and capital budgets on Jan. 29.
