The Ottawa Police Service wants to hire 25 new uniformed officers and other staff this year, according to a draft budget tabled Wednesday.
The Police Services Board has already been directed by city council to keep the property tax increase to a maximum of 2.5 per cent, so that is reflected in a draft budget tabled before board members that provides no big changes in direction or spending.
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The police force faces considerable budget pressures, with inflation and crime both on the rise, calls for service increasing and an increase in the scope and scale of protests in Ottawa, including an “unsettling rise in right-wing extremism and large-scale protests,” according to the draft budget.
A 2.5 per cent increase in the tax revenue for police in 2023 amounts to an extra $17 for the average urban homeowner, bringing the total annual bill to pay for police services to $680.
Most of the proposed increase to the proposed $359 million net operating budget for Ottawa Police Service in 2023 is to pay for salary increases and rising costs due to inflation.
The majority of the police budget — 83 per cent — is to pay for staff.
The draft also includes cutting $500,000 through unspecified “efficiencies.”
Various consultations on the budget continue throughout February, including a Feb. 15 meeting of the board’s finance and audit committee and a Feb. 27 meeting of the board when the public can make delegations.
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