Photo by Curtis Galbraith

By Curtis Galbraith

Police funding

Grande Prairie waiting on half of provincial policing grants

Aug 11, 2019 | 10:08 AM

GRANDE PRAIRIE, AB – The province has written a letter to Grande Prairie city hall, saying it will not get half of a couple of grants to pay for policing until after a new provincial budget is approved this fall.

The letter from Alberta Justice and the Solicitor General, dated July 5, says the department has been operating on an interim supply budget and has not been allocated all of its funding for the current fiscal year.

That means only half of the Municipal Policing Assistance Grant and the Police Officer Grant has been forwarded to the city.

Mayor Bill Given says this shows how provincial decisions impact local governments.

“The City of Grade Prairie does rely on our Municipal Policing Assistance Grant. It is a pretty significant number. I think it is approximately $800,000 a year the city does receive from the province towards policing. It is a relatively small amount in terms of our policing costs, but it is not an insignificant amount in terms of our property tax implications.”

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The City’s total 2019 budget for the RCMP Detachment is $18,649,166.

Given is sure there will be a resolution.

“Provincial election cycles are not something we have control of or that the government has control of and it’s reasonable for any government to want to review the books before they forward a budget. But it does mean that communities from Brooks to Fort McMurray, and Grande Prairie included, are in this risky situation where there is revenue that we were expecting to have and that if it isn’t forwarded, it means that we would be put in a deficit position.”

Given says there is no reason to think the province will renege on providing this funding.

“I think policing and community safety has historically been a priority for the provincial government. I think the new government has recognized that this is something that is a core function and they’ve placed a significant priority on. Having said that, we appreciate the fact they are looking through the provincial budget with a fine-tooth comb.”

If the money does not come from the province, it would have to come from the city’s reserve funds.

The same letter says grants for police services are part of the review of all parts of the provincial budget.