By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
Dissatisfied with the reception her presentation got at an October meeting of the Cobourg Police Services Board on her ideas for lowering the steep 2026 increase to the police budget, Esther Schroeder made the same presentation to council at its meeting Wednesday,
A member of the mayor’s community-led budget task force as well as the police board’s Finance Committee, Schroeder made this presentation at the Police Board meeting where the 20.5% budget was passed – and at which Police Chief Paul VandeGraaf repeatedly stated that the police budget is bound by the terms of the Community Safety Policing Act.
She expressed to Cobourg council her disappointment at what she felt was a lack of transparency – citing the example of $100,000 in costs to be incurred over three years in implementing the new Community Safety Policing Act.
“That’s just a number he throws out there,” she alleged.
Schroeder’s report listed eight items she felt could be cut that would save a total of $1.364-million and bring the budget increase down to 3.1% – well under the mayor’s Strong Mayor Power directive that this year’s police budget increase be limited to 4%.
VandeGraaf had addressed each item in October and explained that none of them was possible, from the $5,000 for meals and refreshments to $858,000 for court services.
Or, as she reported, “he basically said every single point was invalid.”
VandeGraaf had said that the duties and levels of service the police give are rarely discretionary. Court sits as long as it sits, for instance – and even when it’s adjourned, the paperwork and prisoner escort must be done. And prior to court, legislation is in place dictating levels of staffing for everything from prisoner escort to court sittings. As for such work as preparing briefs, he added, an officer engaged in that work is not engaged in things like being on patrol.
Ultimately, he stated, the level of police service provided reflects what people need to feel safe and are demanding at a time when members of the public are expressing concerns about increased homelessness and mental-health and addiction issues.
Schroeder urged council to hold the line and make the force draw from its reserves, as was done last year to hold down the budget to 5%. And this might also be necessary in future years to keep budget increases more manageable.
And if it comes to arbitration, she said, “maybe that has to be done to send a clear message to the Cobourg Police that they can’t just get away with anything.”
Schroeder said she was inspired by her concern for her family’s increasing tax bills – rising from $7,300 in 2018 to almost $10,000.
“Affordability and controlling tax increases have to be an absolute priority above everything else,” she said.
“If these costs keep exploding, more and more people will end up looking for alternatives.”
Mayor Lucas Cleveland took a moment to clarify terminology. The “budget” is the final version to be submitted to council under the new Strong Mayors legislation. For now, Cleveland said, “what we are looking at is the estimates being provided by the Cobourg Police board.”
More information is expected Monday, Dec. 1, at the 1 p.m. special council meeting with respect to these figures.
Earlier in the evening, Councillor Adam Bureau – who chairs the Cobourg Police Services Board – said he had just returned from a policing conference where he was struck by “realizing a lot of municipalities all over Ontario, with respect to policing, have a lot of the same issues, whether it be labour negotiations, budget, as well as homelessness and addiction, as well as mental health issues, and that goes to the cost of policing.”
Schroeder had mentioned that court security and court administration costs are going up 61%, and this was the subject of a Notice of Motion later in the meeting by Bureau to approach Northumberland County for a higher financial contribution for this item due to the rising costs now borne by the Cobourg Police – beyond the $300,000 Mayor Lucas Cleveland says the county now contributes.
In this connection, Cleveland suggested inviting members of the county financial team to be present at the Dec. 1 meeting.
Deputy Mayor Nicole Beatty made an amendment to the motion that appeals for more help with court costs also be made to Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General.
Both the amendment and the motion passed.
