COLD LAKE - The City of Cold Lake’s ongoing financial commitment to maintaining and enhancing municipal policing services came under the spotlight during the Sep. 10 regular council meeting, as RCMP representatives presented a financial plan for 2025-2030.
The plan outlined projected costs and resource needs for the next five years, sparking concerns from council about the growing financial burden on local taxpayers.
With an overall policing budget expected to increase from $4.6 million in 2024 to $5.6 million in 2025, council expressed apprehension over the long-term impacts.
"This is an annual report plan that the City of Cold Lake council has privy to adopt in principle, providing an outlook on expenditures by the RCMP," CAO Kevin Nagoya explained.
However, the new population threshold for municipal funding has shifted the financial landscape. Nagoya pointed out the rising costs faced by the municipality due to changes in provincial funding rules.
"It has become more important now that municipalities are now responsible after the population threshold of 15,000... you're [the city] responsible for 90 per cent, and the provincial government responsible for 10 per cent."
The RCMP plan includes personnel increases, equipment purchases, and new fleet vehicles, which led to discussion around how these would impact local taxes.
Coun. Chris Vining raised concerns about equipment replacement costs, asking, "If we need to spend $100,000, $150,000 replacing a vehicle, is the province picking up a share of that cost or is that a 100 per cent cost to the City?"
Nagoya confirmed that under the new system, many costs are falling directly on the City of Cold Lake.
"New weapons, new shields, new body armor, the equipment, the camera systems, it's a full charge," he stated.
Additionally, RCMP reported significant overtime expenses, further straining the budget.
"There is significant overtime, I think, to the tune of about $300,000 in overtime for the members," Nagoya added.
Mayor Craig Copeland also voiced concerns about the provincial contribution to policing resources, stating, "I don’t think it should be up to the ratepayers to be positioning all of this money... there is an expectation to increase the force by a few members here over the next five years, but where’s the provincial commitment?"
Council passed a motion authorizing the City of Cold Lake to acknowledge the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Cold Lake Municipal Detachment Multi-Year Financial Plan for 2025-2030. The plan outlines projected annual budgets and included support in principle for potential personnel changes, which will be reviewed as part of the City's annual budget development process.
