THUNDER BAY - The Thunder Bay Police Service ended the 2021 in the red, reporting an unfavourable variance of $694,000 due to costs associated with a new collective agreement and reinvestigations as recommended by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director.
“That may sound like a fair amount but it does represent 1.4 per cent of the total net operating budget of $47.9 million,” said Dawn Paris, director of finance and facilities with the Thunder Bay Police Service.
According to a report presented to the Thunder Bay Police Services Board on Tuesday, as of Dec. 31, 2021, there was an $975,000 unfavourable variance in wages, fringe benefits, overtime, and WSIB.
Overtime costs of $1,335,000 and $91,000 for WSIB were higher than expected.
“The increased costs in overtime are due to higher than expected costs associated with the new collective agreement, such as parental leave, increased minimum manpower levels in uniform patrol and costs associated with the requirement to pay out all time in lieu balances at year-end, as well as staffing needs required during the fire evacuations and costs associated with staff attending court particularly while on annual leave,” the report reads.
There were savings of $128,000 in wages and $328,000 in fringe benefits.
The high cost of gas and higher than expected vehicle maintenance also resulted in an unfavourable variance of $83,000 in material costs.
Costs associated with the reinvestigation into nine sudden deaths involving Indigenous people in the city of Thunder Bay as recommended by the OIPRD resulted in a $565,000 unfavourable variance in purchased services and professional fees.
The costs were unbudgeted for as the reinvestigations were expected to conclude in 2020 but it was extended into 2021 due to delays during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There were several favourable variances, including $565,000 in provincial and federal grant revenues related to the prisoner transportation and court security grant and funding for intelligence initiatives.
The pandemic also resulted in a favourable variance in 2021 of $95,000 due to less lost paid duty revenue than estimated. Other COVID-19 impacts include the addition of five air purification units in the cell block area, purchase of personal protective equipment, wages and overtime costs to cover staff required to self-isolate, reduced revenue from paid duty, and cost savings in cancellation of travel and training.
The Thunder Bay Police Services Board also reported an unfavourable variance to end 2021, coming in at $524,000. According to the report, the unfavourable variance is the result of much higher than anticipated legal costs.
"The budget for the Board's operations in 2021 was, simply put, inadequate to meet the reality of the work undertaken, particularly across general administration, professional services, and legal services," the report reads.
