Codiac RCMP costs expected to rise in greater Moncton

Taxpayers are going to need to dig deeper to pay for the Codiac RCMP in the future as the force looks to cover several big ticket items and plan for an increase in staffing, the Codiac Regional Policing Authority heard on Wednesday night.

Paul Van Iderstine, the Codiac Regional Policing Authority's treasurer, said there are several inevitable costs in front of the force that must be paid for in the next few years.

"We have the new communication system, we have the new police building and we've got a collective bargaining unit that we are going to have to deal with," he said.

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"So the total increase in costs for the policing services in the Codiac region are really, we can't say at this point in time, but we know there's some big, big ticket items coming down that we're going to have to look at."

Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe have already budgeted about  $2 million to get the Codiac RCMP up and running on the New Brunswick Trunk Mobile Radio system, a communications system that will allow the police across the province to encrypt communications.

Van Iderstine said a special committee has already been formed with the three municipalities to start investigating a new Codiac RCMP headquarters.

That group is looking at the potential costs with the new headquarters.

RCMP Insp. Jamie George was asked about a possible financial outcome of the Supreme Court of Canada decision that allows RCMP officers a right to collective bargain.

George said there are still many unanswered questions about how the top court's decision will roll out and what financial demands it will create.

Salary increases possible

Terry McKee, a retired RCMP officer and current spokesperson for the Mounted Police Professional Association of Canada, told the police authority that the board should expect staffing costs to rise.

"Members are looking for a substantial raise in their salary," he said.

Van Iderstine also noted that the number of active RCMP officers in the Codiac region has not climbed as the population increased. The force has held firm at around 140 members since 2013.

The treasurer said the association has worked with RCMP management to shift some work to civilian staff. That decision has freed up regular members to focus on front line police duties, Van Iderstine said.

But he added that shifting work around can only go so far.

"After a while you start cutting into bone as opposed to fat," the treasurer said.

"I expect at some point in time it's going to level off and we are going to have to look at increasing positions, I think that's just a fact of life we're going to have to deal with."

The RCMP's George said he agreed with the belief that there is eventual need to boost the number of Mounties in the Moncton area.

The three communities share the cost of the RCMP contract to police the region.  The total cost of the contract for 2015 was $5,241,116.

Moncton taxpayers pays nearly 70 per cent of the bill, Dieppe contributes about 18 per cent and Riverview contributes just more than 11 per cent.