The Moose Jaw Police Service experienced a “very, very tight” operating budget last year because of soaring expenses, but the organization will only learn how tight it was after receiving a final report in February.
The police service (MJPS) presented a budget update — to Nov. 30, 2023 — during the Board of Police Commissioners’ Jan. 9 meeting.
The document showed the agency had a net deficit of $571,851, mainly because the province had failed to provide $709,444 in annual funding. Also, the organization had not yet received $1,449 in revenues for responding to false alarms or $106,092 in policing services income.
Police Chief Rick Bourassa said the budget continued to be “very, very tight,” although the MJPS fully expected the Ministry of Justice to provide the annual revenue by early February.
Meanwhile, the agency had roughly $454,000 in its equipment reserve budget to support the installation of in-car reporting and computer-assisted dispatch programs this year.
“We have been watching the budget very closely (and) taking steps to manage the budget, but we had some expenditures that were larger than anticipated,” he added.
Finance officer Lisa Renwick agreed and said expenses increased more than expected. Moreover, the police service paid out a large chunk of backpay after concluding a new union agreement. With provincial payments, she sets them up as receivables for that year, and once the money arrives, that funding goes against it.
In response to a board question about the provincial funding, Bourassa said the ministry annually provides $800,000 to the MJPS to fund six positions. These positions include four with the Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan (CTSS) and two with the MJPS’s Police and Crisis Team (PACT) unit.
The four CTSS officers spend 30 per cent of their time in Moose Jaw and 70 per cent patrolling provincial highways and supporting other communities. Meanwhile, two PACT officers work with mental health professionals in two teams and provide coverage 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
The PACT teams are regional and support communities within 100 kilometres of Moose Jaw, following the boundaries of the former Five Hills Health Region, said Bourassa.
The police chief noted that the province also provides 80-per-cent funding for the MJPS’s victim services co-ordinator. This position — which includes Sven, the trauma/facility dog — offers regional support as well.
The police service continues to ask for funding to support positions on its internet child exploitation (ICE) unit and serious incident investigation team, Bourassa continued. The agency has two in-house ICE investigators; one recently resigned, while another will travel to Ottawa this year for training.
“(The training is) really, really important. And if we don’t have the trained and properly equipped people dealing with it, we will have victims left unserved,” he added. “So we’re going to continue asking the province to participate with us in that.”
Commissioner Doug Blanc expressed concern about the budget and wanted to see some categories “cleaned up” since commissioners didn’t know what was happening with certain expenses.
Renwick explained that the MJPS relies on city hall to produce its monthly reports. However, the municipality installed a new accounting software system last year that has directed expenses into the wrong categories. Therefore, she is unable to make changes or redirect expenses to their proper areas.
“I wish I could break it down more in this report for you because I find it frustrating as well because it’s not getting the details correct,” she said.
In the maintenance category, for example, the software program has put building and vehicle expenses in there when they should go elsewhere, Renwick continued.
As of Nov. 30, 2023, the maintenance category had $125,355 in expenses while its budget was $311,000, for a surplus of $185,645.
Meanwhile, the supplies expense category is $118,591 over budget because the software program put fuel costs there instead of in vehicle maintenance.
“This year, when we did the 2024 budget, those things are correct and changed. So hopefully, the reporting looks better,” Renwick added.
The next police board meeting is Thursday, Feb. 15, at 9 a.m.
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