The City of Winnipeg is turning to the public for feedback on future police funding plans.
The aim is to choose a predictable and sustainable model that adapts with the newly-increased demand on tax-supported services, the city says in a release.
“In this context, sustainability refers to the taxpayer’s ability to sustain the cost of policing,” states the city’s website.
Winnipeggers can vote from a list of established funding options by participating in an online survey.
The city’s website will be taking votes up until Feb. 2, which will be taken into account by the council in March 2022.
There are five funding models to choose from.
The first proposes making no changes.
Get weekly money news
Financing decisions would continue to be made by the budget working group, which consists of the mayor and eight city councilors, who allocate funds from the total city budget based on requests from other departments.
The second model suggests the police budget increases by inflation rate, using Winnipeg’s consumer price index as a guide.
It’s claimed that any costs accrued by this switch would not be offset by an increase in property taxes; the task to brainstorm ways to cover any inflationary increase would fall on the city council’s shoulders.
If implemented in 2021, this would have added $413,000 to the police budget.
The third model is the same as the second, except for the addition of increases in rate of pay and benefits, which would match what’s included in wage and benefit agreements.
If done last year, this method would have added $672,000 to police funding.
The fourth model encompasses all of the changes in the third one, but adds an alternate way to cover increased costs instead of leaving it up to the council — an added levy to ratepayer tax bills each year.
In 2021, this method would have generated $672,000 for police while adding the levy to raise the exact same amount.
The final model proposes police funds be based on property tax revenue.
A fixed percentage of the city’s property tax income would go to police — if property taxes go up, so does their budget.
If this method is put into place this year, the police budget would see a decrease. In subsequent years, however, their funds would likely go up.
As of now, 26.8 per cent — or $320 million — of the city’s total annual budget of $2 billion goes to the Winnipeg Police Service.
— with files from Elisha Dacey
Comments