Edmonton police say city budget leaves them $61.66M short on IT and capital projects
EPS says the city's recommended four-year budget falls short on digital evidence, dispatch and records systems, and the chief says aging servers and radios will stay in service longer.
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Edmonton police say the city's recommended four-year budget leaves the department $61.66 million short for IT and other capital projects. The gap covers digital evidence management, dispatch and operational records systems, and real-time response technology, according to the Edmonton Police Service.
The service asked for $182.97 million in capital funding over four years. The city administration recommended $121.31 million. Ben Henderson, chair of the Edmonton Police Commission, said the IT enhancements are "the one area where we haven't got a dime, quite frankly."
Police Chief Warren Driechel said that if the capital request is not met, EPS will keep old servers and radios in service longer. "One of our biggest corporate risks we've identified for years is our inability to keep up with the criminal element," he said.
On the operating side, EPS receives $55.8 million in new money over four years under the city's funding formula, starting from a base of $530.75 million a year. Henderson said nearly 60 per cent of that goes to keeping up with inflation. He said the commission asked EPS to find efficiencies first, and the service redirected $18 million to priority services.
Policing makes up just under 16 per cent of total city operating spending this year, about $50 a month for the average household.
HighOnCity reported in September that Mayor Andrew Knack said the police budget would stay on the council-approved formula despite split feedback from a city-wide budget survey.
