Ottawa police will hunt for efficiencies to balance budget in 2024, staff say

Ottawa Police headquarters on Elgin St. is seen in this undated photo. (CTV News Ottawa)

Ottawa police will need to find $2.7 million in efficiencies to fit its spending plan into a 2.5 per cent tax increase from council in 2024.

The Ottawa Police Services Board received an update on the drafting of the 2024 budget on Thursday, two days after council directed city staff to draft its budget with a 2.5 per cent hike, and approved a 2.5 per cent hike in the police tax levy.

A report shows a 2.5 per cent police tax rate increase would give the Ottawa Police Service $8.3 million in new funding next year, along with $5 million in funding from the assessment growth.

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Budget pressures for the Ottawa Police Service in 2024 includes $9.7 million from new contract settlements, $2 million from inflation and pressures from a new staffing strategy.

Financial Planning manager Jon Sweet says the funding will give police the money to hire 25 new police officers next year and a "provision of about $1 million for new services, but that will only go so far."

"Those FTE needs and strategic pressures that we have will have to be prioritized and potentially deferred to the following year," Sweet says.

Deputy Chief Steve Bell says the service may need to defer projects "out into later years" to fit within the funding envelope.  

Horizon Ottawa says the funding increase for Ottawa police in the 2024 budget could be better spent elsewhere.

"I think in general, the two-and-a-half per cent across the board that (Mayor) Mark Sutcliffe is proposing is unsustainable when it comes to most services," Sam Hersh, Horizon Ottawa board member, said Thursday afternoon.

"When it comes to police, we have been calling for a freeze, because we think that money could be spent better elsewhere, that $13 million increase, especially like mental health services."

Staff will table the Ottawa Police Service 2024 draft operating and capital budgets in November.

Hiring 145 officers a year over three years

The Ottawa Police Service is looking to hire 145 police officers a year over the next three years to cover attrition and expand resources for special events, traffic, cybercrime, neighbourhood resource teams and other policing needs.

"We just don’t have enough police services to provide the service that's expected by this city," Deputy Chief Bell said Thursday, noting calls are increasing, the population is growing and crime is "more complex."

Here is a look at the hiring plan for the Ottawa Police Service over the next three years

• 75 officers a year to cover attrition (225 total). Bell says the hiring to cover attrition would come from existing budgets. 
• 40 officers a year for "stabilization" of the Ottawa Police Service, including backfilling WSIB/LTD and parental leaves (120 total to fill existing positions). 
• 25 officers a year for "growth" (75 total).
• 15 officers a year for "event response" (45 total). 

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Peter Szperling