ST. PAUL - With no Community Peace Officers currently employed by the Town of St. Paul, Director of Protective Services Trevor Kotowich offered information as to why he felt the municipality should keep at least one CPO on staff during interim budget discussions on Nov. 28.
During the discussions, it was confirmed that the Town of St. Paul has no active Community Peace Officers, and Kotowich said he was doing his best to keep up with the added workload. In previous discussions, the idea of hiring a bylaw officer, rather than a Community Peace Officer, was put forward - but Kotowich did not feel this was the way to go.
He noted that the Town's current municipal enforcement equipment, such as vehicles, is to be used only by CPOs, and cannot be used by a bylaw officer. He also noted that at the moment, the Town is considered non-compliant due to not having any CPOs on staff, and he did not want to see the municipality lose the program entirely.
The Town of St. Paul has been advertising for CPO positions and has received some qualified candidates. Kotowich said he would like to move forward with interviews and hiring, if a position is included in the budget.
When speaking about the financial difference between hiring a bylaw officer and a CPO, Kotowich said it would be about $25,000 difference, with a CPO being more. When the Town's municipal enforcement program began, it started with just a bylaw officer, and the Town opted to change to a peace officer position within a year, explained Kotowich.
And, "having one is better than having none," he said.
The Town had initially been advertising for two positions and has applied for a grant that - if successful - would require two CPOs to be employed by the municipality. The grant is meant to promote a safe environment, heard council, Monday night.
He noted it was important to look at the difference in role between a CPO and a bylaw officer, and personally felt there would not be enough work for a bylaw officer, since bylaw officers are more limited.
Following Kotowich's presentation, there was a consensus around the table to move ahead with including one CPO in the interim budget, rather than a bylaw officer.
Speaking after the meeting, CAO Steven Jeffery said, "Council had a lot of discussion around the options and in the end decided that the community would benefit most right now with one full-time peace officer as opposed to abolishing the program or transitioning it to a bylaw officer."
Other adjustments
Another Town-run service that will be juggling and adjusting is the Aquatic Centre. A 10 per cent decrease in staffing has been proposed in the interim budget. Administration noted the cut could be a bit aggressive and it was not a definitive plan.
When going over the interim budget, Coun. Gary Ward noted that Champions for Change would be revoking its request for funding. The community-driven non-profit that aims to beautify the community and hosts a variety of events that draw people together, would like to do its part in saving municipal funds, and will seek funding elsewhere in 2023, he reported.
Ward sits on the Champions for Change committee.
Grants to other community groups have also been decreased in the interim budget, while residents may notice other changes such as a move to make the Town's rodeo supper held over the Labour Day long weekend a break-even event.
Policing contract
The Town of St. Paul's $2.15 million policing contracts with RCMP has also been discussed at length during budget talks.
"These dollars are only relative to the positions that are appointed to the Municipality. In actuality, the entire dollar figure once you account for support staff, DNA/Lab Testing, Telecom and Training is closer to $2.5 million," further explained Jeffery, after the meeting.
"It's a massive portion of your taxes," said Coun. Nathan Taylor, during Monday night's discussions.
It was also noted that in 2010, the Town received about the same amount of grant funding for policing as it does now, yet costs have doubled.
Coun. Ron Boisvert wondered if the Town could reduce from 12 to 10 RCMP positions, to which it was noted that the Town could direct RCMP to not fill the Town vacancies, but Mayor Maureen Miller cautioned against losing the positions in case they were needed in the future.
"We're only paying for what we're actually using," said Miller, speaking to when there is and is not a full complement of officers at the St. Paul Detachment.
Three per cent tax increase and slight surplus
After discussing and making adjustments, the interim budget numbers showed a $39,000 surplus on a roughly $18 million budget. The interim budget includes a three per cent tax increase across the board, down from a proposed 5.5 per cent increase that was discussed at a mid-November Committee of the Whole meeting.
Taylor said that while he was hoping that number would be closer to two per cent, he felt it was reasonable to go with three per cent and strive to do two or two-and-a-half when the municipality approves its final budget and mill rate in early 2023.
"Aside from the three per cent tax increase across the board, the Town does look to collect significantly more funds, especially in utility franchise fees and the proposed $10 increase to the sewer flat fee on all utility bills. This $10 charge on utility bills will be utilized to help offset the debt payments made by the municipality for the Waste Water Treatment Plant upgrades," explained Jeffery, after the meeting.
The sewer fee is paid once every two months and translates to $60 per year, per household. The increase will result in $150,000 additional revenue.
FSLW reduced and Centerfield support
Family School Liaison Worker funding to St. Paul Education has been reduced in the 2023 interim budget. Last budget, the amount was set at $18,500, and in 2023 the amount has been reduced to $10,000, confirmed Jeffery, after Monday night's meeting.
Centerfield Music Festival funding is also not included in the interim budget.
"Last year, this was an expense of $50,000 to the community," said Jeffery, when asked about funding for the two-day music festival held at the Jaycee Ballpark.
Administrators in various Town departments have also been working behind the scenes to reduce spending. Jeffery noted a balance needs to be maintained, and he does not want to see staff morale decline, however, "staff social functions, hiring freezes and the elimination of various training opportunities for staff have been removed from many departments in this year's budget."
Electronic utility bills
During Monday night's meeting, council approved moving forward with adding a $2 fee to paper utility bills that are mailed out, which translates to $12 a year for residents since bills are sent out bi-monthly.
Residents do have an option to opt-in to receive their utility bills electronically instead, without the added fee. It was noted that it takes about five to six hours for staff to complete the process for utility bills to be mailed out.
Leisure centre feasibility study
Just before council began discussions around the interim budget on Monday, Miller acknowledged that it may be confusing for some residents as to why council is talking about budget cuts yet is also part of a feasibility study for a potential regional multi-purpose leisure centre.
It was noted that large projects like a leisure centre need to be planned well in advance, if they are ever to happen.
Consultants who are doing the feasibility study are wrapping up the public engagement phase of the study, with an online survey set to close on Dec. 7. In-person engagement opportunities were also recently held.
