THUNDER BAY – A Thunder Bay city councillor says he'll push to add another $1 million in police spending to the city’s 2022 budget as the document is debated by council in the coming weeks.
The draft 2022 budget already includes $1.8 million in spending increases requested by the Thunder Bay Police Service and its oversight body, the Thunder Bay Police Services Board.
If approved, that would bring city spending on police to $49.2 million this year, accounting for the bulk of the force's $55.4 million budget.
Coun. Aldo Ruberto argues there’s a clear need for more police officers in the city, largely to tackle what police and other agencies have described as growing problems with the illegal drug trade.
“They’re overworked, they’re overstretched, and they need more help,” he said. “If we could get, for the next five years, $1 million in the budget… directed only at frontline police officers, I’m hoping we can shrink the drug issue to some degree.”
Ruberto made the comments at a virtual town hall meeting held by the city’s five at-large councillors Thursday evening. In an interview, he said he hoped the funding could be used to hire as many as seven new officers.
He expressed confidence a push for more police funding would find popular support.
“I believe the majority of people in Thunder Bay will support this – they’ll say, you know what, I’m willing to pay extra on my taxes if we can reduce crime, reduce the issues that are making our city not as good as it could be.”
He maintained city spending on the police service “hasn’t gone up significantly” in recent years.
The figure has risen from $40.7 million to $47.2 million during the current term of city council, a 16 per cent increase over three years.
By comparison, city spending on other departments and agencies increased by 7.6 per cent over the same period, from 2018 to 2021.
Going back further, police spending increased by about 41 per cent from 2011 to 2021.
Ruberto acknowledged the proposal to invest in policing rather than support services would likely draw blowback, but argued the two strategies must go hand-in-hand – and that health, poverty, and housing are largely issues of provincial and federal jurisdiction.
“Council has invested millions in social programs,” he added, pointing to the city's Community, Youth, and Cultural Fund.
Some of that fund, which rose to $2.9 million in 2021, supports local agencies dealing with homelessness and poverty, though a significant amount also bolsters organizations like the symphony, Thunder Bay Museum, and Community Auditorium.
The city also provides meaningful in-kind support through the efforts of staff, Ruberto said, and recently passed a strategy to boost homelessness and poverty funding and ramp up advocacy for solutions from upper levels of government.
He also noted plans for increased spending on the city's bylaw enforcement division, which he hopes will take pressure off of police.
City manager Norm Gale warned earlier this week while introducing the draft budget that city spending on emergency services is growing at an unsustainable rate and will need to be reined in to avoid substantial tax increases in the long run.
The police force is also asking the city to commit to funding a new police station in the 2022 budget, estimated to cost $56 million.
Coun. Mark Bentz said Thursday the true cost would likely be higher, thanks to debt financing and because the city would take over responsibility for the current headquarters on Balmoral Street, should a new building go ahead.
Debt financing costs for the new build would likely have a 2 to 2.5 per cent impact on the city’s tax levy beginning in 2025, Bentz said.
While a recent tour of the current police station had convinced him of the need for major upgrades, he questioned whether an expensive new build was the only option.
“There is a need for improvement, there’s no question,” he said. “I think the decision the community needs to make is should we refurbish what we have and maybe add on to it, or should we build brand new? Of course, the consultants have weighed in and said it’s cheaper to build brand new, but there are other considerations to be had.”
The city budget will be debated by council in the coming weeks and approved on Feb. 7. A full schedule of budget meetings, and information on how residents can submit feedback, is available at the city's website.
