Whiteout Street Parties cost Winnipeg Police close to $800K in OT

The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) revealed Friday the series of Whiteout Street Parties cost $788,000 in overtime.

READ: Extra Winnipeg officers plus increased overtime for Whiteout Street Parties push police over budget

Chief Danny Smyth said the overtime costs were high, largely because there was minimal advanced planning on how to schedule staff.

“We had no ability to plan around the schedule, so we were caught having to call people in,” Chief Smyth said. “And then you’re paying a tremendous amount of overtime that way.”

Going forward, the police service hopes to see more advanced planning ahead of any playoff run.

“We can’t enter event planning like this with days notice,” Chief Danny Smyth said. “We need to do that with months or weeks notice so we can properly engage in that.”

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It’s not clear if the city or True North Sports and Entertainment (TNSE) will cover the overtime costs.

TNSE spokesperson Rob Wozny said the parties were unprecedented, and while many lessons were learned, some things were beyond their control.

“As we debrief with our partners in the weeks and months ahead, we’ll be reviewing a number of potential initiatives, including planning further in advance, noting that it’s not always possible based on the short scheduling timelines for the Playoffs presented to us by the NHL,” Wozny said.

He added TNSE would be sharing its numbers, including the costs it will be covering, Monday.

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The street parties launched in the first Winnipeg Jets playoff series against the Minnesota Wild. The first party involved the closure of Donald Street between Graham Avenue and Portage Avenue.  But over the three rounds, the party expanded to include several blocks and the rerouting of Winnipeg Transit.

About 80 officers staffed the first game.  The chief said staffing for the party peaked at about 250 officers.

“If we were to see ourselves doing something similar in another year, we would begin that planning process for them months in advance, not days in advance,” Chief Smyth said.

The WPS is currently projecting a $4.5 M deficit for the 2018 year.