Waterloo regional police asking for $18 million budget increase for 2023

Waterloo regional police are asking for a $214 million budget for 2023.

The request, finalized by the police services board on Wednesday, represents a $18 million increase over what the force received last year and would allow it to hire 19 more officers. Chief Mark Crowell says the new hires are needed based on the region's population growth over the last nine years.

The ask will now go before regional council and some community groups are already asking councillors to deny it in favour of allocating more money toward services like transportation, community-led mental health supports, affordable housing and the creation of a Black cultural centre.

“This is a chance for regional council to invest in services that help close the gap between rich and poor instead of giving more money to the police,” the African Caribbean Black Network of Waterloo Region said in a news release posted to Twitter.

Around 32 cents from every dollar Waterloo region residents pay in property taxes fund the police service. The proposed police budget increase would see that portion of the property tax bill increase 7.2 per cent.

Mark Eger, president of the Waterloo Regional Police Association, said having three major post-secondary schools presents a challenge for police to cover. Combined with the region’s growing population, call volumes are becoming too much for their current complement of around 820 officers to handle.

“Call queues are consistently high and roll over from shift to shift,” Eger said. “There are simply not enough uniformed officers to respond to calls for service, which causes unbearable caseloads for members. While also undermining the community’s faith that the police will respond in a timely fashion when they need it.”

The proposed police services budget is scheduled to be presented to regional council on Feb. 1. Final approval of the 2023 regional budget is set for the end of February.

The first of two public input nights on the budget will take place on Wednesday from 6:30 to 9:30.