After tossing the idea around for more than a month, city council ultimately backed an RCMP request for more boots on the ground.
During Monday night's meeting, the group voted to boost the police budget to allow for the hiring of three additional officers and one city support worker this year.
Head of the P.G. detachment, Supt. Warren Brown, first made his case for additional resources at an early November finance and audit committee meeting. Brown was asking for funding for seven additional officers over a three-year span, beginning with three officers in 2016.
Council's decision provides for the first three, without any guarantee of more in subsequent years.
While the group was unanimous in their support for the increase, they were split on how to go about it. The vote for the three members passed 5-3, with Couns. Garth Frizzell, Jillian Merrick and Susan Scott opposed (Coun. Brian Skakun was not in attendance).
The trio were more interested in supporting a slightly scaled back scenario - still hiring a municipal employee but only adding two RCMP officers this year.
But Coun. Frank Everitt, who put forward the successful motion, wanted to stick to the initial ask.
"I think it's important we recognize the RCMP have come to us and they said in order to do the job we want to do for our community, we need to have some additional RCMP officers," Everitt said.
Council's decision adds 0.21 per cent to the tax levy increase approved in December, bringing the overall 2016 increase to 3.21 per cent.
The other scenario, of only hiring two officers this year, would have led to a tax levy increase of 3.15 per cent. The expectation is that there won't be any new officers brought on board until the fall, which means the full cost of the hires won't be felt until 2017.
"I don't want to trip over dollars to pick up nickels," said Coun. Terri McConnachie, who also said she wanted to be a part of the solution and that she trusted Brown's leadership on the issue.
Future conversations still need to be held with Brown regarding the high cost of overtime the RCMP is racking up, said Mayor Lyn Hall.
By increasing the roster, the detachment is hoping to have actual officers on the ground instead of just on paper.
As it's been for the past decade, the contracted amount of local RCMP members is 128, while the city has budgeted for 121 since 2009.
The only time the detachment has met the budgeted amount of members was in 2010.
Last year, the detachment asked for and received an on-paper increase to the contract amount from 128 to 135 in an attempt to provide enough so-called hard vacancies (actual empty positions, as opposed to positions vacated due to parental leave or injury, or soft vacancies) to fill those 121 spots.
On Monday night, city council also cemented the fate of two items from the capital plan that were singled out by Coun. Jillian Merrick during December's budget meeting.
The first, a $390,000 expense for an upgraded video score clock and camera system at CN Centre, will go ahead as planned.
Merrick said she supports the project after hearing more details about its use and the agreement with the WHL's Prince George Cougars.
"Whoever is producing jumbotrons in North America has a nice little market for themselves," Merrick said.
Council also approved a staff recommendation to put off the second project - new picnic shelters at Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park - until 2017.
As originally laid out, it was a $400,000 investment into reinstalling the shelters that were removed in the summer of 2014 and installing washrooms. The price was based on a 2007 concept, said a staff report.
By putting it off, there is time to consult with the Lheidli T'enneh First Nation on the possible integration of the shelter with a memorial monument to which the province has contributed $25,000 and perhaps find a cheaper design.
