Surrey mayor says police ran $26M deficit, union slams 'misinformation'

The mayor of Surrey has accused the city's municipal police force of running a $26 million budget deficit last year – a claim the Surrey Police Union characterized as "misinformation."

The latest war of words in the protracted battle over policing in B.C.'s second-largest city follows complaints that Surrey has been withholding wages from 10 police recruits who were hired in December. 

In a statement issued Tuesday, Mayor Brenda Locke described those hires as "neither approved nor budget for," and accused the Surrey Police Service of "out of control spending."

Locke said city council approved a $48.7 million budget for the SPS last year, but that the department spent $75.4 million.

"Civic budgets cannot run a deficit and must be balanced. The continued spending of the SPS shows that they are either negligent of the law or believe that the law does not apply to them," Locke wrote.

The mayor's claims were quickly met with pushback from the Surrey Police Board and the union representing SPS members.

Board administrator Mike Serr said council had initially approved a 2023 budget of $157.6 million for the Surrey Police Service, but later slashed that total by 70 per cent, to around $48 million, to support Locke's campaign promise to scrap the municipal force and maintain Surrey's RCMP detachment.

Locke has seemed intent on seeing that promise through, even after B.C. Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth directed Surrey to continue transitioning towards full reliance on the SPS over the summer.

At the time, Farnworth said Surrey officials had failed to "meet mandatory requirements" necessary to reverse course.

Much infighting has followed the province's directive, resulting in the suspension of the Surrey Police Board back in September, including Locke's position as chair. Serr was appointed administrator to avoid further delays in the transition.

According to Serr, the SPS and city subsequently worked together and agreed on a $75 million budget to carry the department through 2023, but that Locke "refused to provide formal approval of the agreed to budget, and is now misrepresenting this as 'overspending.'"

"The transition is legally bound to continue. This means that the SPS budget will continue to increase, as the RCMP detachment’s budget needs will decrease. It is inappropriate to suggest that the continued hires and associated budget is a burden on taxpayers, just as it is unfair to refuse to pay these officers," Serr wrote in a statement Tuesday.

Despite Locke's remarks, Surrey Police Union spokesperson Ryan Buhrig suggested the city actually ended the year with a significant surplus in overall police spending, which includes funding for the RCMP, SPS and other services.

He pointed to a $19 million surplus identified in Surrey's Q3 financial report, along with $82 million that was initially earmarked for severance for SPS officers who would have been terminated were Locke's plans not overruled by the province. That funding is now allocated for "future policing expenses," according to the union.

"It's disappointing that the mayor continues to spread misinformation around the policing transition and finances," Buhrig said. "This is really done to discredit our members and cause confusion (among) the public."

In her statement, Locke said officials instructed the SPS to halt hiring "multiple times" last year, but that the department "has chosen to disregard any instruction and have continued to spend money it does not have."

Buhrig insisted that SPS is working to fulfill a provincial mandate to hire 180 members in support of the eventual takeover from the Surrey RMCP.

"It's extremely disingenuous for the mayor to come out and say that we're over-budget when we're extremely underfunded," he said.