Photo by Curtis Galbraith

By Curtis Galbraith/Emily Keller

City Hall

Some reductions approved at city hall budget talks

Nov 13, 2019 | 2:05 PM

City Council has approved some reductions for the RCMP, Enforcement Services, and fire department at 2020 budget talks.

The cuts come from changing operating hours, eliminating overlap and not filling some jobs that have been vacant in recent months.

The fire department will see a $250,000 reduction, something that city officials say is more in line with historical spending. Another $80,000 reduction will come from not filling a vacant administration job.

Some reductions are coming to the RCMP budget. That includes $262,857 for Community Policing, which comes from overlap that came about after that area was combined with Crime Prevention. Another $170,000 reduction comes from reducing front desk service hours now that crashes can be reported through the Collision Reporting Centre located in the Eastlink Centre. The Safe City Nights Program, which saw enhanced policing at bars, has been reduced by $100,000 as the bar scene in Grande Prairie has, in the words of one member of city administration, dissipated. Administrative costs will be reduced by $85,000 as city officials say this can be done through other areas.

Police and fire account for the two biggest expenses in the city budget, with the RCMP budget alone coming in at over $20-million.

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Adjusting hours for Enforcement Services is expected to save $222,000. City staff presenting at budget talks say providing service from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m is not something done in other communities. Instead, more service will be provided when call volumes are at the highest.

There is also an $80,000 reduction for the Community Social Development department. This comes from the special project funding area which is for emerging issues and ideas as they come along. Some on council wanted to see it kept in the budget in case it was needed, but others believed that since this was the minimum reduction, administration is okay with the cut.

City staff says these are what they refer to as the green level of cuts, or the ones that will have the least impact on services. Higher levels of cuts are designated as yellow and red.