Calgary councillors seek funding solutions for police budget shortfall

A group of city councillors are calling on the city to explore ways to address a multi-million dollar funding gap in the Calgary Police Service budget, following a provincial decision to restrict the use of photo radar.

An urgent motion from Councillors Sonya Sharp, Terry Wong, Jennifer Wyness, and Andre Chabot was endorsed at committee on Tuesday and will be presented to city council later this month.

This motion comes in response to revelations that the Calgary Police Service is facing a $28 million budget shortfall in 2025 and in subsequent years, largely due to a decline in ticket revenue from new restrictions on photo radar.

The motion requests city administration to assist the Calgary Police Commission with funding strategies to help close this financial gap.

"We really need to send a signal to the province saying sometimes when you make gestures and remove things that you think are minor, it actually has a big impact on safety for Calgarians," Sharp told reporters.

The motion also calls for a report on potential speed and traffic calming measures, which would include annual costs and comparisons regarding the effectiveness of photo radar.

Additionally, it urges city administration to advocate for the Government of Alberta to allow more photo radar locations in high collision areas as exemptions to the new restrictions.

"There is still hope the province can reverse their decision," Wyness stated. "I think if they looked at the news and saw the number of fatalities that we're seeing in the city of Calgary; that should be enough data."

The new provincial regulations, announced in December, limit photo radar use to school, playground, and construction zones, reducing the number of eligible sites from 2,000 to 650 across the province.

On Friday, Calgary police chief Mark Neufeld reported that efforts are underway to cut costs, including a pause on hiring civilian staff and limiting overtime expenses, which will result in a $13 million cost in 2024.

John Orr, president of the Calgary Police Association, expressed discontent, stating that relying on ticket revenue to fund the police budget is inappropriate. "The police budget should be funded to provide policing services, it should not be dependent on enforcement," Orr added.

The provincial government shares 40 percent of its fine revenue with municipalities, and city council has traditionally relied on that funding to alleviate property tax revenue for policing services, according to the Calgary Police Commission.

The police budget typically contains estimates on the anticipated fine revenue for the year based on previous data. Notably, in 2024, there was a $15 million shortfall in the expected shared fine revenue.

The Calgary Police Commission acknowledged that the province's changes to photo radar would "significantly increase" the budget shortfall in 2025.

Another aspect of the councillors' motion is to reform police funding by helping the commission sever the linkage between fine revenue and the police budget.

"Our Commission also believes that traffic enforcement should only be used to promote public safety. A year ago, we adopted the position that fine revenue should be removed from future police budgets to ensure that safety remains the only focus of enforcement activities," stated the commission.

The provincial government has indicated that they will engage with municipalities and law enforcement in the coming weeks to finalise the new photo radar guidelines, which are scheduled to take effect on April 1.

"These discussions will help ensure automated enforcement is used appropriately, focusing on improving road safety rather than generating revenue," a spokesperson for the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services said.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek expressed concern that this might lead to an increase in property tax bills for Calgarians next year, indicating that the funding gap amounts to six percent of the police service's budget. "The provincial government has defunded our police service," Gondek lamented.