Police anticipate $630K budget shortfall

THUNDER BAY -- It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that police are expected to be over-budget by the end of the year, the city's police chief says.

The Thunder Bay Police Service Board heard Tuesday morning that the Thunder Bay Police Service are expected to be around $639,400, or 1.73 per cent, over budget this year.

Chief J.P. Levesque said with 11 homicides making their way through the courts, that time spent in court rooms drives up the cost for police. Levesque said he told the board and city council that last year. But police were asked to come back with a lower budget and those types of costs are the easiest to trim.

"It's more a matter of underfunding certain areas. It was pretty predictable," Levesque said.

"It's kind of an I told you so thing."

The board understands and Levesque is hoping city council does too. No manager wants to head to council over-budget but there are certain costs that are hard to control.

What's unpredictable, such as legal fees for various hearings, is also driving up some of that budget, along with the low Canadian dollar when staff have to travel to the United States for training not offered anywhere else.

Levesque said he's going to work to see where cuts can be made to keep costs down by the end of the year.