City council's approval of a financial plan that targets capital projects and policing resources in Surrey has sparked open dissent within Mayor Doug McCallum's own party.
Safe Surrey Coalition Coun. Jack Hundial told CTV News he was "very disappointed" by Monday's 5-4 vote, which brought the controversial budget one step closer to spelling doom for plans to grow the local RCMP detachment by 12 officers.
"I was a little disappointed that we weren't able to achieve some of the things we'd committed during our campaign to do, which was to build up infrastructure in Surrey and also provide a higher sense of safety for the community of Surrey," the former Mountie said.
As the party's name suggests, McCallum and other members of the coalition campaigned on a promise to reduce crime in the city. Part of that pledge involved replacing the Surrey RCMP with a dedicated municipal force, but that transition will be costly and likely take years.
In the meantime, Hundial said, the hiring freeze included in the budget falls short of making Surrey safer.
"Certainly saying in a growing population like Surrey has that we're actually going to put a full stop on bringing in any more police is just the wrong message for this community and, certainly, it's not the message that resonates with me. I didn't run on that," he said.
Those concerns, the councillor said, have been made clear by residents who have reached out to the city. Hundial said city staff have received some 300 emails opposing the budget and only one email in support of the financial plan.
In a statement to CTV News, one of the B.C. RCMP's top cops also expressed his disappointed that help isn't coming to the streets of Surrey.
"Surrey RCMP could use a significant increase in police and supporting resources in order to keep pace with the city's growth and to meet legitimate public expectations," Assistant Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said.
Councillors Brenda Locke, Linda Annis, and Steven Pettigrew also voted against the financial plan Monday, with some citing similar concerns.
The cinched budget aims to shave nearly $136 million off the city's debt load by delaying a number of capital projects, including a much-anticipated ice rink in Cloverdale.
The new arena was intended to replace the area's aging rink, but McCallum has said structural problems with the ground underneath the facility would put to project "considerably" over its initial $45 million budget.
Not only do projects such as the new Cloverdale Sports and Ice Complex bring the community together, but they also contribute to safety in the long term by acting as a "key component to keeping kids off the street and allowing them to focus their energies into a more productive lifestyle," Hundial said.
A $58-million Grandview Heights Community Centre and Library, the Fleetwood Community Centre and Library expansion, modular child care facilities, the Indigenous Gathering Place and infrastructure used by the RCMP could also end up on the chopping block as a result of the new budget.
The financial plan won't be formally passed until it receives a final reading during a special meeting that's expected to be held on Wednesday.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Emad Agahi
