WRPS board approves $228 million budget for 2024

Multiple police vehicles are seen on Gildner Street in Kitchener on May 29, 2022. (Tyler Kelaher/CTV Kitchener)

The Waterloo Regional Police Services (WRPS) board has approved its 2024 budget. The budget still needs approval from regional council to be finalized.

The 2024 budget, unanimously approved at a police board meeting on Wednesday, is $228 million, representing a 6.7 per cent increase, or $14 million, compared to last year.

If approved by council, it would add an additional $34 to the policing portion of the average homeowner’s property tax bill.

In October, the police board estimated the budget would be around $230 million, but changes have been made to bring it down.

“We reduced that estimate from October to November by $1.9 million,” WRPS director of finance and assets Kirsten Hand said at the meeting.

Hand said that was done by deferring frontline technology programs and increasing the position vacancy provision.

Hand said there are a number of reasons why the budget has increased since last year.

“Some of those include increasing rates of inflation. On our capital side, we have seen the cost of construction impact our facility capital projects by 12 per cent year over year. There’s also contractual increases that we must factor into budget estimates from our collective agreements such as cost-of-living increases. We’ve seen benefit cost increases including the enhanced CPP federal program, cost in health and dental coverage, WSIB costs, retiree benefit costs, which I will note were mitigated in the last collective agreement,” said Hand.

The police budget will now go to regional council on Nov. 22, where councillors will decide whether to approve it.