Editor:
Last December, Mayor McCallum and our newly elected council voted to initiate the two-year “opt out” provision contained within the Municipal Police Unit Agreement between the City of Surrey and the RCMP. This action was taken without any comprehension of the complexity of transitioning Canada’s largest RCMP detachment to an independent police organization, the associated costs or the benefits to the taxpayers of Surrey. If the agreement is terminated, the costs, transition and increased operating costs over the first five years will exceed $250 million.
Ultimately, the taxpayers of Surrey will pay for this action, but the immediate impact on our property taxes will undoubtedly be blunted as these costs will be financed through increased debt, appropriation of accumulated surpluses and the postponement or deferral of critical public amenities.
The cancellation of over $100 million in capital spending by council, which would have provided for recreational facilities, libraries and other public-use assets, is no coincidence.
These capital projects, instead of providing benefits to the residents of Surrey for decades, will be replaced with transition costs of over $100 million for recruiting and relocating of over 800 police officers, repair, acquisition or replacement of equipment, vehicles, uniforms, training and more.
In 2017, the contract costs paid to the RCMP were $123 million with the federal government subsidizing approximately $14 million. There is no subsidy for a Surrey independent police organization.
Based on comparable policing costs of municipal forces in Abbotsford and Delta (2016), the increased costs between the Surrey RCMP and these two municipal forces was $50 for every resident of Surrey. Based on a current Surrey population of 570,000 the annual increased costs to policing will exceed $28 million or 20 per cent over current contracted costs with the RCMP.
I would have fully supported a review to determine the costs and benefits of alternative policing structures.
The City of Richmond, which is served by the RCMP, undertook such a study and determined that the additional cost burden on the taxpayers of Richmond did not represent good value. Unfortunately, as our mayor and council did not elect to take this route, they undoubtedly will produce a biased and one-sided report to rationalize their actions. As taxpayers, we should be very sceptical about the conclusions of any report and ensure that our elected politicians are held accountable. Under the Police Act the Province of British Columbia must ensure our public safety and any change within Surrey requires their approval.
As taxpayers, we do have a voice. It is time our elected politicians both municipally and provincially heard this voice.
Al Ecclestone, Surrey