The City of Surrey says on Thursday that it has greenlit a $284.5 million budget for the Surrey Police Service (SPS), an increased allowance of $45 million compared to last year’s budget.
The budget was a point of disagreement between the city and the Surrey Police Board (SPB), which originally requested a $91 million increase in November last year.
The Surrey Police Union (SPU) warns that the reduced budget will lead to fewer police officers on the street, not more.
“You cannot demand more policing, more visibility, and more capacity, while simultaneously gutting the resources needed to deliver it,” said Ryan Buhrig, president of the SPU.
He argues that the surge of extortion threats across the Fraser Valley, with Surrey at the heart of it, justifies the original proposed budget.
“Cutting nearly $47 million from policing at the eleventh hour, while Surrey is facing an extortion crisis and while SPS is being asked to expand operations and assume additional districts, is reckless.”
Mayor Branda Locke rejected the original proposal back in November, calling it “extraordinarily excessive.”
She said that Surrey would have to impose an 18 per cent property tax increase on its residents.
Now, as the SPB and the city have settled their dispute, both parties offered a more conciliatory tone.
“I am happy the Surrey Police Board and City of Surrey were able to reach common ground on a police budget that provides the resources SPS needs to deliver services that the community deserves,” said SPB chair Harley Chappell.
Mayor Locke, thanking negotiators on both sides for developing a new proposal, says she is glad that the budget has found a balance between public safety and low taxes.
“I’m pleased to have a budget that furthers that balance,” she said.
The newly proposed budget accounts for an increase of $100 million since 2021.