Kamloops city council unanimously adopts motion calling for RCMP funding model shift

Photo: Castanet

A pair of Kamloops councillors want to see the province find a better funding model for RCMP that will help municipalities struggling under “rapidly increasing police costs.”

A motion brought forward by Coun. Katie Neustaeter and Coun. Kelly Hall calling for a new cost sharing agreement was adopted unanimously by council during Tuesday’s meeting.

“The ability for municipal governments to respond to rapidly increasing police costs and our limited mechanism to manage payment is creating significant hardship on municipal budgets,” reads Neustaeter and Hall’s motion.

Hall said having chaired council's safety and security select committee for the past two years, he’s seen costs related to policing, safety and security have an impact on the city.

“We see it at the budget table,” Hall said, noting the new body-worn cameras rolling out at the Kamloops detachment as an example.

Council members were told in the fall that some of the tax increase this year is due to higher policing costs — including about $225,000 for the body-worn cameras.

According to the City of Kamloops, RCMP services account for about 25 per cent of its total 2025 operating budget — a total of $34.6 million for the RCMP contract, and $40.5 million including municipal support.

A city staff report prepared for a January budget meeting states that since 2020, the cost per RCMP member has seen a $64,000 increase. Collective agreements, which include salary increases, have been ratified without any say from municipalities.

For municipalities with populations over 15,000, the municipality covers 90 per cent of the cost for policing and the remaining 10 per cent is picked up by the province.

“So much of this [motion] is about saying this is wrong — and municipalities cannot stand up under this pressure,” Neustaeter said to council.

“Twenty-five per cent of our local budget, one that's not even within our purview, and we have no control over the cost. So a lot of this is amplifying the voice and saying this problem has been out of our control, but we're willing to come to a solution together.”

The motion calls for municipalities — through Southern Interior Local Government Association and the Union of B.C. Municipalities — to come together and urge the province to “develop a reasonable shared costing agreement” for policing fees.

“Local government recognize the critical need for a police force that can be effectively funded, particularly as crime increases under current provincial and federal policies,” the motion said.

The motion said local governments are restricted to revenue generation through property taxes alone — but senior levels of government would have more options for taxation.

It calls for a new costing agreement which “better reflects available revenue streams, contract controls, policy influence and current policing needs.”

Coun. Nancy Bepple, who represents the city with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, said this is a concern in cities across the country.

“It would be helpful if FCM is in the loop, because they're already working on this issue from a federal perspective,” Bepple said.

Last month, Kamloops council opted to partially defer the hiring of some new RCMP officers this year in a bid to reduce the property tax rate. The cost of adding five more officers this year, per a previously approved council initiative, would have been about $1.5 million.