The province's proposed policing costs model has become a bit more clear to the MD of Bonnyville.
During Wednesday's council meeting, director of public safety Chris Garner explained what he's learned about the potential formula.
In September, the Government of Alberta informed municipalities that municipal districts and counties would be required to started pitching in for policing costs, something they haven't done for over three decades.
This includes the MD of Bonnyville, who currently fall under the provincial policing contract which sees the province pick-up the costs for policing in rural MDs, counties, and communities with less than 5,000 residents.
“Rural municipalities haven’t had to pay for policing since 1988. This is something that’s coming about that’s new. There isn’t another proposal to change the accountability or methodology of how a rural county or MD handles interactions with provincial police,” explained Garner. “This is strictly a cost measure."
What that means, he explained, is even though the MD will soon be required to contribute to policing costs, they won't see an increase in services.
The fact that the MD would have to start paying for RCMP wasn't new to council, but information that they wouldn't have a choice in the matter was.
Garner explained, “Prior to 1988, MDs and counties had options (for policing). We were required to pay for it, but we had options like an urban area, such as the Town of Bonnyville or City of Cold Lake. We could do regional policing, have our own police services… but in 1988, the province changed the police act, so we have no options. We can only take what the province gives us. We’re under the provincial policing contract here. We have no option to form our own police service because we’re a rural municipality.”
He continued, “The trade-off was, in 1988, that rural MDs and counties would no longer have to pay for policing costs directly because they didn’t have other options, they couldn’t look at anything else. Now what (the province's) doing, is they’re going to charge us again, but they’re going to keep that clause that says we don’t have any other options."
There is one alternative, Garner noted.
The MD could create a regional police force with a local urban community such as the Town of Bonnyville or City of Cold Lake. Lethbridge County and the City of Lethbridge opted for this, however, Garner isn't sure how that has worked out for the municipalities involved.
“That’s our only (other) option. We can’t, as the MD of Bonnyville, have our own police service,” he stated.
After the province announced changes were on the horizon, Garner requested a chart outlining the potential cost for the MD. He isn't sure how accurate their calculations are at this point.
“They informed me this was an example and that the numbers were close, but not exact."
From what Garner understands, the province is having municipalities contribute a certain dollar value based on their population, property tax percentage, and crime severity index (CSI), among other factors.
“What the CSI is, is a measure of police reported crime, and they weigh different crimes higher. If you have a murder, manslaughter, or something (of that nature), it’s weighted a lot higher to get to that number than let’s say a property crime that’s theft under $5,000,” detailed Garner.
If a community's CSI is higher than the provincial average, they receive a subsidy, which based on the province's calculations, the MD would qualify for.
For example, if the MD were contribute 15 per cent of policing costs, based on 2018's 11,661 residents and a CSI of 172, they would pay roughly $650,000 annually, with a 2.7 per cent subsidy equalling just over $17,000.
That's the minimum the MD could contribute.
The highest amount, at 70 per cent using the same population and CSI, is $3-million. In this scenario, the municipality would be eligible for $80,000 in subsidies.
The province hasn't included the potential shadow population or Métis settlements that fall within the MD's boundaries.
However, Garner noted, the CSI value used did incorporate the crime levels in the settlements.
“These (CSI) numbers aren’t done by municipality, they’re done by police service. Since we have the RCMP, that means they’re done per detachment. The MD of Bonnyville is divided up… from the detachments in Cold Lake, Bonnyville, and because they’ve included the Frog Lake Métis Settlement, we now have pieces from the Elk Point detachment," explained Garner.
When asked if the MD would be expected to open their wallet for the Métis settlements' fair share of policing costs, CAO Luc Mercier clarified.
“Based on this calculation, (the province's) intent from their discussions with us, is the MD of Bonnyville would be taking care of itself... The intent isn't to charge us for other municipalities or settlements.”
Coun. Dana Swigart agreed rural municipalities should be contributing to the cost of police services, but they should see some benefit from it.
“I think the municipalities should be willing to pay some of the policing costs, but it’s not going to increase our service at all,” he exclaimed, adding "the province is just downloading the cost of RCMP to us."
Coun. Ben Fadeyiw agreed the MD doesn't see a lot of RCMP patrolling their rural roads or communities.
Mercier confirmed the local municipality wasn't alone in their frustrations.
“A lot of rural municipalities are pushing back. They want to option to choose their own service as well.”
He added, “We at least would like the option to look at other alternatives to provide this service if we’re paying an additional $3-million."
With no definitive implementation date in sight, Garner said the Rural Municipalities Association is expressing the concerns of their members, which for Garner, included the dollars the MD has dedicated to-date to enhanced RCMP positions and detachment upgrades.
In the meantime, Mercier believes the province is providing them a "worst case scenario."
“I think they included that number to make us think the worst and then when they come back with less we’re thinking ‘oh, it’s not that bad.’”
