Mayor Dan Rogers is calling on the federal government to get back to the table and negotiate on RCMP services in B.C.
Earlier this week B.C. Solicitor General Shirley Bond told local government officials at the Union of B.C. Municipalities annual convention that talks with Ottawa over the renewal of the RCMP contract had broken down. Bond said the federal government sign a contract by the end of November, or the RCMP will withdraw services from B.C. when the contract runs out in 2014.
"We are becoming incresingly concerned. We need the federal government back at the table to address the concerns of local government," Rogers said. "We have had great support from the from the provincial government in these dicussions, but we've had total frustration at the federal level."
Local governments in B.C. want to see increased financial accountability by the RCMP and efforts to control rapidly-rising policing costs.
"What we saw last year was a number of decisions by the federal government... which resulted in a cost increase last year alone of over $1 million just to maintain the status quo," Rogers said. "We in local government simply get the bill with no input on how those costs are determined."
For 2011, the city budgeted $20.6 million for RCMP services - approximately 20 per cent of the city's total operational budget.
"There is a huge risk to our local taxpayers," Roger said.
Rogers said the city, and local governments in B.C. in general, are not interested in pursuing a provincial police force in B.C., but are not prepared to sign on to another 20 years with the RCMP with no input into costs.
"We still need to make some progress on financial accountability and cost containment," Roger said.
- With files from The Canadian Press
