‘There is nothing new here’: Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke pushes back on SPS budget

Mayor Brenda Locke says “nothing has changed” on her end, after the Surrey Police Service (SPS) publicly released its 2024 proposed budget.

In a statement, Locke says the plan is “the same one brought to the City of Surrey in November.”

“There is nothing new here and the fact is nothing has changed on our end. The City of Surrey’s 2024 budget is being worked on by our Finance staff. Until that is done, and only once that is done, will we know what effect the SPS budget will have on the property tax rate,” she explained.

The proposed budget was unveiled by Surrey Police Board administrator Mike Serr on Thursday. He noted the budget was presented to city hall in November but that he hadn’t heard much back since then.

Both he and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said Thursday that the budget shows the police transition can continue in a way that won’t affect taxpayers.

However, Locke is refuting their claims, saying any suggestion that the switch to a municipal force won’t result in more cost to residents isn’t true.

“To suggest such a thing is not only disingenuous but reveals the continued lack of knowledge and due diligence on the part of the NDP government when it comes to the financial ramifications of this transition to Surrey,” the mayor said in a statement.

“The province has already estimated that the switch to the SPS will cost a minimum of $30 [million] extra per year. Unless the Province plans to fund 100% of all of the SPS’s extra costs, not just for three years but beyond, any shortfall will fall on the backs of Surrey residents and businesses.”

Locke has repeatedly warned of potential costs to residents in her bids against the SPS. However, Farnworth said Thursday the province’s offer to help with transition costs is sufficient.

“I’m confident in the $150 million that is there from the province and I’m confident in the work done by professionals, the administrator, in terms of putting together a budget that’s within the fiscal framework that Surrey itself has laid out,” he said.

The SPS budget is asking for $141.5 million this year. Serr said that figure is based on the city’s own numbers, carryover from the last fiscal year, underspent money from Surrey’s police transition fund, and one-time funding support from the B.C. government.

Serr added that if the budget is approved, the SPS would be able to hire additional officers and staff, raising the total number of municipal police on the ground to 526 by the end of 2024.

However, Locke is pushing back on suggestions Serr has made about hiring, calling it an “unrealistic goal” to add 180 officers this year.

“We are five years into this transition, which was supposed to be completed by April 1, 2021, and the SPS current staffing levels are only at 25%,” she said.

“Surrey City Council cares about the financial burden this transition will place on the taxpayers of Surrey. We will be putting together the 2024 Budget with their bests interests in mind and will be engaging in further public consultation in the coming weeks.”

Last year, Farnworth ordered Surrey to continue with the police transition, prompting legal challenges from Locke.

In November, the province suspended the Surrey Police Board — whose chair is Locke — and appointed an administrator to help move the transition from the RCMP along.

Since that time, Serr, a former Abbotsford Police chief, has been serving as administrator to perform the functions of the board and help with the process. Farnworth said at the time that board members would be able to resume their roles once Serr’s “appointment concludes.”

-With files from Cole Schisler