London Police Chief John Pare at a Police Services Board Meeting. (Photo by Miranda Chant, BlackburnNews.com)London Police Chief John Pare at a Police Services Board Meeting. (Photo by Miranda Chant, BlackburnNews.com)
London

Council Scales Back Police Budget

London Police Chief John Pare won't be getting the extra officers he had hoped for.

The city's top cop presented his spending plan for the next four years to city council Friday. In it, police asked for a total of $397-million over the course of the multi-year budget, including $97.2-million for 2016.

This year's budget request was up 2.5% over 2015 as police tacked on an additional $900,000 to hire six new employees- five police officers and one civilian.

Pare went into the meeting knowing he was in for an uphill battle.

"I think the budget is a tough sell every year," says Pare. "I've been part of the budget cycle for five years now and they are never easy. We are a large ticket item, we understand that but we are an important piece to the health and safety of our community."

Council quickly quashed any hope of acquiring the new staff, choosing instead to slash the budget by roughly $4-million to $393-million. The motion was approved 11-4.

Pare hasn't ruled out appealing council's decision to the Ontario Police Commission.

"We will have a review of how this is going to impact us," says Pare. "We will meet with the Police Services Board and have some further consultation and decide on what our next steps are."

London police could still see the hire of seven new staffers thanks to assessment growth. In a piece separate from the budget, police requested six new officers for foot patrol, investigation services, training, and communications and one civilian for court prisoner security.

"My understanding is that the assessment growth is going to be decided in March and that's the final piece in our request," says Pare. "Until we have the full picture I don't know if we are going to be able to determine our direction."

Council is working to keep the average tax bill hike between $71 and $85 annually over the next four years.

The city's first multi-year budget will be approved on March 10.

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