Council chambers at Sarnia City Hall. (Photo by Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley from Twitter)Council chambers at Sarnia City Hall. (Photo by Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley from Twitter)
Sarnia

New Sarnia budget overview calls for six per cent hike in police funding

Sarnia council has been presented a draft 2023 budget that calls for a six per cent increase in police services funding.

The city's treasurer delivered the latest budget overview to council on Monday.

Jane Qi said the proposed operating budget amounts to nearly $172 million, with almost $28.9 million dedicated to police services, an increase of $1.6 million from 2022.

Councillor Terry Burrell noted the increase.

"In terms of the police budget, [from what] I understand here, the treasurer has put about a six per cent increase, and the increase is about 12 per cent from the police services board," said Burrell. "So, we will have to be making some adjustments to our budget to handle that one way or the other."

Mayor Mike Bradley pointed out that a significant amount of money would be pulled from other areas to mitigate the increase, if it's passed.

Bradley told Qi he was concerned about what happens to the budget if costs remain high in the future.

"We're more worried about next year, or if we don't have the money," Bradley said. "We can save that discussion for another day. But, it's a real concern."

Sarnia's police chief defended the budget increases when he presented his draft to the police services board last week.

Derek Davis said inflationary impacts were unavoidable this year.

The City of Sarnia 2023 budget overview can be found here.

Four municipal grant requests were included.

The Arthritis Society Canada is seeking $5,000, Blue Coast Primary Care - Recruitment & Retention $80,000, Organization for Literacy in Lambton $14,000 and the Lambton College “Civic Lab” $50,000.

An earlier draft called for a four per cent increase to the city's general levy.

Budget input will be discussed during Sarnia council's regular meeting December 12.

Budget deliberation day at city hall is January 10.

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