Vancouver police propose budget of $383 million, up 11%

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The Vancouver Police Department has proposed an operating budget of $383 million for 2023, an increase of 11.17% from this year.

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Included are funds to hire 100 additional police officers pledged by the ABC party, which now controls the city council.

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VPD management will submit its operating budget proposal for 2023 to the Vancouver Police Department on Thursday as part of the budgeting process that takes place each November. The Board will then make recommendations to the City Council and make final decisions on the police budget as part of the 2023 Citywide Operating Budget.

In a related development Tuesday, the ABC majority on the council approved a motion seeking the hiring of 100 additional officers.

Its motion is based on one of ABC Vancouver’s greatest motions. Election manifesto This year’s election will direct the city’s budget to include funding for new police and 100 mental health nurses to work with the VPD.

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Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, three city council members not affiliated with ABC raised concerns on Tuesday about the revised cost projections and what one of them called the “quick nature” of the process. expressed.

A proposed police budget released on Tuesday estimates the cost of hiring 100 police officers and 20 private sector experts, which the VPD also recommends, will add $15.7 million to the budget.

The motion to hire 100 police officers and 100 nurses was introduced by ABC Coun. Lisa Dominato initially told city officials that she would allocate $4.5 million in the budget to hire more police officers, and she would also give $1.5 million to Vancouver Coastal Health to work in her VPD. I tried to assign a nurse to be hired.

On Tuesday, Dominato filed an amendment to her motion, seeking to increase budget allocations to $8 million for police and $8 million for nurses.

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green count. Pete Frye expressed concern about what he called “the ad hoc nature of the way these numbers keep changing”.

The vote, along with Frye and fellow Green Coun, was in line with party line on the financial portion of the motion. Christine Boyle. All ABC councilors voted yes.

On Sunday, Prime Minister David Evey announced several measures to improve public safety and crack down on repeat violent offenders.

ABC Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, who attended Eby’s press conference, told CTV News later that day that the prime minister’s announcement means an additional $3 million from the state will help the city hire nurses.

The next day, the prime minister’s office revealed to CTV News that the state’s new public safety plan had not tied specific funding to the new Vancouver mayor’s plan to hire more police and nurses.

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Kareem Alam, the mayor’s chief of staff, wrote on twitter Monday: “To set the record straight. The state didn’t give Vancouver all $3 million. We were wrong.”

The Sim is not attending Tuesday’s city council meeting, and has no plans to attend Thursday’s Police Commission meeting.

Sim and all seven ABC Council candidates were elected this year as a result of a campaign focused on crime and public safety. The Vancouver Police Union also endorsed Sim and her ABC ahead of this year’s election, marking the first time the union has publicly endorsed a candidate.

dfumano@postmedia.com

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