Police Told To Cut $1.2M From Budget

The Saint John Police Force is facing major budget cuts as the city looks to close a $10-million deficit.

City council has told the Board of Police Commissioners to make nearly $1.2 million in workforce-related adjustments by the end of the year.

The letter was presented at Tuesday’s board meeting but chair Edward Keyes said it did not come as a surprise.

“We knew the police department, as with all the other departments of the city, we’re going to be impacted and upwards of $1 million is what we’ve been hearing,” said Keyes after the meeting.

The letter to the board said it can consider “wage freezes, natural attrition, severance payments, possible voluntary departure incentives, efficiency initiatives, the civilianization of certain police services, and service reductions,” among other things.

Keyes said it is too soon to know what sort of impacts these cuts could have on the police force.

“The good news is we got it early so we can now look to see where we can make the adjustments that might be required,” he said.

Council previously directed the city manager to address 50 per cent of the proposed deficit through workforce adjustments.

Mayor Don Darling said the board will decide where the cuts will happen, but noted most of the budget is associated with staffing.

“The police commission will have those discussions but likely this is gonna end up impacting people in the rest of the divisions of the City of Saint John,” said Darling, who is also a member of the board.

Board members voted to refer the letter to the police chief, who will come back to them with a report.

Chief Bruce Connell, who is retiring in late February, declined to comment after Tuesday’s meeting.