EPS FUNDING FORMULA

Last Friday, I passed a three-part motion on the new Police Funding Formula. In addition to introducing a new accountability mechanism and exploring further refinements to the formula, my motion also resulted in an additional $7 million for EPS in 2023. As many may remember, I responded to Taproot Magazine’s candidate survey during the 2021 municipal campaign stating that I wanted to see a decrease in the EPS budget. I also spoke against even having a funding formula when that decision was before us at Council in May and June.

So why do I feel Friday's decision was a good outcome?

The Numbers

I want to start with the numbers. I’ve seen a range of different ones being shared and wanted to clarify my understanding of where we’re at.

When our current Council was elected, the Police Funding Formula had been suspended and the 2021 allocation to EPS was $406 million. While deliberating the 2022 budget, we increased this to $407m to recognize the cost of National Day of Truth and Reconciliation being honoured as a statutory holiday, which added about $1m in staff costs. 

Another police budget decision we made was in June, which was a matter of accounting. Previously, $384m of the EPS budget came directly from taxes and $22.9m came from photo radar revenue. We voted to move the full amount over to the tax base in order to ensure that fluctuations in the photo radar fund did not adversely affect the budget for EPS, and to provide more dedicated funding for our safe mobility strategy. That accounting change was also important for me as it provides greater clarity on the full cost of policing in Edmonton. The $407m noted above was now just fully captured in the tax levy but no additional funding was provided.

The last change we made was in August to provide two years of funding for the Healthy Streets Operation Centre, a collaboration between EPS, City Peace Officers, Fire Rescue Services, Homeward Trust, and Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society. The total allocation for EPS in 2023 is $4.5m. At the time that we passed this motion, the funding came from the Community Safety and Wellbeing Fund as this was the only funding source available. Some of my Council colleagues have since suggested that the Healthy Streets Operation Centre should be funded through the funding formula allocation - something that I also think makes sense and look forward to debating in coming weeks. 

To recap: with the formula as approved, EPS will receive $414m in 2023. Two additional factors could see this increase further - the decision around Healthy Streets noted above and the wage settlement determined by the EPS and CSU52 collective agreements. Out of respect for the collective bargaining process, I can't speculate on what those amounts might be but I think on the whole the increase will certainly be below the $69m anticipated under the old formula.

I appreciate that any increase is more than the zero called for by Safer For All but I believe we're striking a balance between managing our city's financial resources while also responding to the reality of current conditions in our city as we continue to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

Why Not Zero?

For me, community safety is a both/and proposition. I fundamentally believe in the urgency of investing in solutions that address root causes of the challenges we see in our community, including poverty, housing affordability, intergenerational trauma, and mental health and addictions. Addressing these issues doesn't only meet the needs of those experiencing them: it makes us all safer and creates the conditions we need to run businesses and go about our daily lives. I also firmly believe that we need alternative interventions that can more effectively respond to non-criminal disorder, which can also reduce demands on police services. 

This type of holistic work takes time and the impacts will not materialise overnight - as put by a stakeholder "we still need the bandaid while the wound is healing." I hear at least daily from residents and businesses around O-day'min who are facing situations where the police are currently the best response. This includes assaults and significant property destruction. It's not acceptable for businesses and residents to face these types of situations alone. When people call for EPS with a priority one call, we need EPS there to respond. 

The funding formula we passed Friday provides us with a stable mechanism to address this need without overcommitting in a moment of crisis. I believe it strikes a balance between our fiscal realities and the need to make sure we have adequate resources for EPS to operate. And it's not set in stone either. One of the core objectives of my set of motions was to make sure we are taking steps to evaluate and refine the formula in the coming year.

Further Refinements

While I think the formula brought forward by City staff last week was a solid start, the second part of my motion was focused on three key aspects of the formula that I feel need further consideration.  

The first is the use of population growth as a factor for funding increases. While practical and easy to implement, tying EPS funding directly to population growth suggests that safety concerns scale with population. It also ties us to a specific ratio of officers to Edmontonians regardless of the safety needs of the community. While it might be challenging to come up with an alternative, I think it's vital that we at least explore a range of options. 

The second part of the formula I'd like to look at is the cap that prevents EPS' budget from exceeding 30% of overall City spending. I think this approach is an effective mechanism to provide an automatic limit in times of financial constraint but I'm unsure about locking in to our current budget ratios. While 30% reflects our current spending reality, I’d much prefer our ratio to be focused on our desired future, one where a greater proportion of spending is focused on preventative and proactive solutions. 

The third consideration is the uncertainty around how regularly EPS would be able to come back to Council with additional budget requests outside of the funding provided by the formula. This lack of clarity has the potential to take away from the certainty that the formula can provide to taxpayers. I'm hopeful we can define narrower parameters for these requests and ensure a common understanding between Council, Edmonton Police Commission, and EPS on this process.

The final part of my motion called for City staff to work with the Edmonton Police Commission to develop a reporting and accountability framework. I envision this including performance metrics as well as transparent budget details that allows Council to have access to the information we need to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of EPS, as set out under the Police Act. This would have the additional benefit of supporting more open, public discussions of our funding priorities as a community and the strides we're making towards safety and wellbeing.

Evaluating Progress

I appreciate that my reasoning may not resonate with those who wanted to see a hard cap - and that’s fair. My objective is to reverse the trend that had been identified in the Safer for All 2021 Report, which saw EPS funding increasing steadily, and consistently outpacing investments in preventative and proactive services. I want to reverse that trend - not by slashing EPS budgets during a time of unprecedented safety concerns in our city, but by investing more in our safety and wellbeing ecosystem. I'm proud of the tens of millions of dollars we've approved to support our Affordable Housing Investment Plan, and the millions we've committed to initiatives like Community Outreach Transit Teams, day-time hours at shelters, problem property responses, public bathrooms, street outreach, and cleanup teams. There is also a great opportunity to build on existing successes, for example ensuring that Crisis Diversion 24/7 is adequately funded to respond to every call they receive. 

Tracking EPS Budget. Safer for All Report, 2021.

I am firmly committed to keeping these types of investments as our main focus as we enter the 2023-2026 budget and look forward to the ongoing conversation about how we make best use of our resources to support community safety and wellbeing.