THUNDER BAY – City police are showing no significant budget variance as of Sept. 30, according to a report presented to the Thunder Bay Police Services Board at their meeting Thursday.
The report highlights that personnel services were $1.1 million over budget, but Dawn Paris, director of finance and facilities, told the board that increased provincial funding and user fees collected for services such as paid duty have offset the unfavourable variance.
“Although (personnel services) is over budget, the service is under budget in other areas. So, it balances to a zero,” Thunder Bay Police Services Board Chair Karen Machado told Newswatch.
Machado pointed out that some of the budget overages were due to injuries, with police spending $1.3 million in overtime costs and $430,000 in WSIB expenditures related to health care, physicians, and administration fees.
Machado said that the Thunder Bay Police Service do their best to prevent workplace injuries, but “they do happen” and are impossible to predict on a budget.
“They do good work in trying to look at and target items and prevent injuries, but unfortunately, injuries do happen,” said Machado.
Secretary John Hannam said the board itself on track to have a favourable year-end variance of $100,000.
However, they are although they are over budget on legal fees by $54,900.09 in the third-quarter variance report.
“Budgeting for the board itself is new. I think this is the third budget. The second one that I've been involved in. So, we're learning where spending is targeted. We projected based on really no historical information,” Machado said.
“But we've set up a budgeting committee. We're looking at it much more closely. We're cognizant of taxpayer costs and wanna make sure we do the good work we need to do.”
