Surrey Police Service pushes back against mayor's spending claims

SURREY, B.C. -

The Surrey Police Service is going public with its proposed budget – to try and counter claims by the city's mayor it’s spending at a rate that will push property taxes higher.

It comes as the dispute over the future of policing in Surrey drags on.

In an effort to convince the public the SPS isn’t burning cash at an irresponsible rate as Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke has implied – Surrey Police Board Administrator Mike Serr has released the details of what the new service wants to spend this year.

The documents call for a budget of $141,511,053 – which Serr says fits within the city’s financial plan – but council needs to sign off.

A significant amount of that money would go toward hiring 180 new officers as the force prepares to replace the RCMP as Surrey’s police of jurisdiction.

"I am hoping we can resolve this between the board and the city and work together,” Serr told reporters on Thursday.

"The budget shows the path forward in a way that is responsible, that is respectful of Surrey's budgeting -- their three year fiscal plan as it relates to policing -- and there's not a need for tax increases, which the mayor has been talking about,” Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said after Serr’s news conference.

Mayor Locke was not made available for an interview, but did release a statement.

"To suggest [the transition] won’t lead to tax increases is not only disingenuous but reveals the continued lack of knowledge and due diligence on the part of the NDP government,” read part of Locke’s statement.

But not everyone on council backs the mayor on this – with Coun. Linda Annis just wanting the city to get on with moving away from the RCMP.

“We need to get this transition completed,” Annis told CTV. “The sooner we can complete the transition, the less expensive it will be to the taxpayers.”

If council doesn’t approve the budget – Serr will have to ask B.C.’s director of policing to force it through.

He warns failure to green light the document could mean higher costs and a delay to the two-and-a-half year transition timeline.

If the city fails to adopt a budget by mid-May – Serr has the right to request that the director of policing gets involved.