The District of West Kelowna has agreed to sign a Municipal Police Unit Agreement that includes West Kelowna’s negotiated terms as soon as April 1, 2009. The agreement with the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General is expected to result in a policing cost of $3,454,615 for 2009 to December 2012. This represents a slight decrease in policing taxes to West Kelowna taxpayers with the average taxpayer expected to pay $85.69 for policing costs each year beginning in 2009. The District also negotiated for two more RCMP officers assigned to Kelowna Rural Detachment bringing the total to 21.
Council agreed to sign the agreement now rather than wait to the end of the transition period (2013) given the significant benefits the District of West Kelowna could see with the move. “Signing the agreement now rather than waiting until the end of transitional funding is beneficial to the District because Council has the ability to set service levels, adjust policing levels and possibly realize cost savings,” says Mayor Doug Findlater. Without a municipal policing contract, all policing decisions are made at the provincial level and the District does not benefit from any cost savings. Major crimes policing will be paid out of provincial funding. Five full-time support staff will become municipal employees under the agreement. The District negotiated a grant of $2,353,290/year for 2009 to 2012 from the Province for policing costs during the transition – the 2009 grant will be $1.5 million as it is a partial year. The District will also receive a $1.17 million one-time restructure assistance grant.
The Municipal Police Unit Agreement (MPUA) the District will sign is the standard BC policing agreement with several additional terms added that were negotiated by the District of West Kelowna. The additional terms are:
The District will receive $1.17 million in additional restructure assistance for the period April 1, 2009 to December 31, 2012 from the Ministry of Community Development.
The Province will provide the District with an annual grant for the period April 1, 2009 to December 31, 2012.
The Province will ensure the District receives the annual Traffic Fine Revenue Sharing (TFRS) grant beginning in 2009 – there will be no two year lag in receiving this grant. West Kelowna’s 2009 TFRS grant is estimated to be $108,000.
The RCMP (E Division) will allocate two additional Provincial Force positions to the Kelowna Regional Provincial RCMP unit, bringing the total number of Kelowna Rural Detachment RCMP officers to 21.
The RCMP Provincial Force will provide assistance as necessary to deal with any major incident that occurs within the District of West Kelowna during the period April 1, 2009 to December 31, 2012.
The RCMP (E Division) will conduct annual reviews of service levels and workload within the Kelowna Regional Detachment to determine or update the minimum core service levels required in each area.
The District of West Kelowna will work with other municipalities within the Kelowna Regional Detachment, as well as the RCMP and the Province, to reach agreement on how to share the costs for the shared police administration and other police related functions.
The District of West Kelowna will sign an MPUA for a minimum of 21 members.
The Detachment will require . These RCMP municipal support positions will report to the Human Resources Division, which will amend the District’s Org Chart.
An Order in Council from the Provincial Government is required for the agreement to be signed. The OIC is being processed by the Province to add the District of West Kelowna to Schedule “B” of the Municipal Police Agreement between the Province of BC and Canada. It is anticipated that the agreement will come into effect April 1.
Council agreed to sign the agreement now rather than wait to the end of the transition period (2013) given the significant benefits the District of West Kelowna could see with the move. “Signing the agreement now rather than waiting until the end of transitional funding is beneficial to the District because Council has the ability to set service levels, adjust policing levels and possibly realize cost savings,” says Mayor Doug Findlater. Without a municipal policing contract, all policing decisions are made at the provincial level and the District does not benefit from any cost savings. Major crimes policing will be paid out of provincial funding. Five full-time support staff will become municipal employees under the agreement. The District negotiated a grant of $2,353,290/year for 2009 to 2012 from the Province for policing costs during the transition – the 2009 grant will be $1.5 million as it is a partial year. The District will also receive a $1.17 million one-time restructure assistance grant.
The Municipal Police Unit Agreement (MPUA) the District will sign is the standard BC policing agreement with several additional terms added that were negotiated by the District of West Kelowna. The additional terms are:
An Order in Council from the Provincial Government is required for the agreement to be signed. The OIC is being processed by the Province to add the District of West Kelowna to Schedule “B” of the Municipal Police Agreement between the Province of BC and Canada. It is anticipated that the agreement will come into effect April 1.
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