The Belleville Police Services Board has finalized and approved its 2022 capital budget.
The final total comes in at $620,514 for the year.
Belleville Police Service Chief Mike Callaghan kicked off the budget discussion at the board’s meeting on Monday saying that they began with a budget of $1.18 million.
They then went through a process of cutting items out of the budget to lower the number, by designating must-haves and nice-to-have items.
Chief Callaghan explained how the final number came together.
“We recognized right away that we had to find opportunities within our police service to look at opportunities to address the paramount concerns but as opposed to the ‘nice to have’ and the ‘need to have’ and the budget that is before you today, I can tell you, is ‘need to have’. We’ve also been fortunate enough, especially in this day and age with IT costs, that we were able to defer a couple of things until next year to ensure again that we were being fiscally responsible to our taxpayers and the community.”
The single largest portion of the budget, $284,202, is dedicated to the police fleet of vehicles.
There’s $75,275 allocated for a Ford F-150 Police Responder, $76,472 for a 2022 Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicle to replace a vehicle going to auction, $62,497 for a 2022 Dodge Charger AWD to replace a vehicle, $27,979 for a 2018 Subaru Forester XT to replace a vehicle going to auction and $28,558 for a Chevrolet Tahoe in a box kit to replace any parts without a wait period in the event of a collision.
Callaghan spoke about the process they take with police vehicles.
“We have a fleet maintenance program and schedule that we utilize to look at vehicles to renew our fleet but at the same time ensure that we’re getting a maximum resale value when those fleet vehicles come to the end of their service life.
The other two portions of the budget are $92,416 for specialized equipment and $198,312 for Information Technology.
Before the budget was approved, Belleville Mayor Mitch Panciuk asked if there were any outstanding issues with the new police headquarters building, which had its grand opening last month.
Callaghan said that on the north side of the building, at College Street, the wall has no outside insulation which has led to chilly temperatures inside and a hike in utilities to keep up with the cold.
When Panciuk asked for clarification as to why one side of the building wasn’t insulated, Callaghan explained that it was his understanding that the architect was told by the previous Chief Administrative Officer to leave it out.
The mayor recommended that the police board include the insulation of the wall as an outstanding item that needs to be addressed as part of their budget presentation to council in early December so as to avoid having to go through another winter without it being taken care of.
He further recommended they contact a representative of Shoalts and Zaback, the architecture firm that designed the building, to find clarity on how and why it was removed from the building plans.
Callaghan agreed and said it will be done.
The budget was put to a vote and the board voted unanimously in favour of supporting the budget and passing it along to Belleville City Council for full approval.
To see the full budget, click here.
