For the first time in seven years, the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Police Department is in danger of running a deficit because of its continued monitoring of the Occupy Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»protest outside the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Art Gallery.
Police Chief Jim Chu warned the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Police Board Wednesday that deploying officers to the protest since it began Saturday has been expensive and threatens our ability to meet our budget this year.
The cost of the policing is not trivial but were going to deploy what we need to keep the protesters as well as the public safe, Chu told reporters after the board meeting but wouldnt reveal costs. For any event where theres an extended period of time that its going to occur, and when we dont know for certainty what kind of event its going to be, it is very difficult to put a final budget number on it.
The VPDs operating budget hovers around $200 million but it has no contingency fund other than a $2.4 million criminal investigation budget that goes toward overtime costs related to homicides, kidnappings and major crimes.
Until the protest began Saturday, the chief said, the department was on course to balance its budget for the seventh consecutive yeareven with policing costs associated to the Stanley Cup playoffs and the June 15 riot which erupted downtown after the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in Game 7.
When were near the end of the year, and an unexpected event occurs like Occupy Vancouver, then it doesnt give us an opportunity through other months to try to make up for the shortfall that this may cause us, the chief said.
The department is also not allowed to use any surpluses from previous years. But Mayor Gregor Robertson, who is chairperson of the police board, wouldnt commit to changing the arrangement when questioned after the meeting.
The police have had a stellar record the last six years, and so its an extraordinary year like this that provokes the question around having a contingency in the VPD budget, Robertson told the Courier. Im certainly open-minded to new approaches.
If the VPD runs a deficit, the mayor said it would likely be covered by a city contingency fund. But whats the consequence to the VPD of going over budget?
Thats a good question, Robertson said. It hasnt happened under my watch and for several years before, so its obviously something well look closely at what next steps and proactive approaches we can take so the police can address an extraordinary year like this.
Twitter: @Howellings
