The RCMP will be getting one more sergeant and the city one more speed-on-green camera despite a hard push from administration for councillors to rethink their decisions.
The local detachment had asked for two new sergeants to increase supervisory levels to the force's standard. Sitting as committee of the whole, councillors supported Coun. Wes Brodhead's motion to hire only one sergeant.
"I don't want to minimize the job or what they bring to community, but they need to be cognizant of how they do business and make efficiencies," Brodhead said of the RCMP. "I think it's top-heavy and they need to take a look at how they do business."
Immediately after the motion passed, acting city manager Chris Jardine, who is still the general manager of Community and Protective Services, lobbied council to pass a follow-up motion. Officially moved by Brodhead as well, it stated that any recommended redeployment of officers as a result of a review of the detachment's oversight capabilities not include the traffic detail, which Jardine explained as the easiest to "ramp down and up."
"We just wanted clarity of direction to say we don't want this to impact revenue," Jardine said in a later interview.
With traffic officially removed as a redeployment option and the city under pressure from Ottawa to increase oversight standards, Jardine said any redeployment, if deemed necessary, will still impact another department.
"I'm not anticipating a redeployment from another detail is going to be well received because there is a little more long-term issue with it."
As an example, he used the drug enforcement squad, which consists of a corporal and two constables. Removing one of those officers could render the unit ineffective.
"To pull one out, you're having to say that you're shutting down the whole team and that won't be well received by the community."
New camera
Administration also lobbied council to avoid adding a third speed-on-green camera at this time because of the nature of the current contract with ACS, which owns and operates the city's two cameras. The contract, which specifies only two cameras, is up for renewal in October 2013. Negotiation to add a third camera would mean that a new camera might only be in operation for less than a year before the contract expires.
"The challenge logistically is when does this get installed and how long do we have it in place before the contract potentially gets replaced," Aaron Giesbrecht, manager of policing services.
Council supported Mayor Nolan Crouse, who put forward the motion to purchase the new camera, citing statistics that showed intersection cameras had caught 11,000 violators in 2010 to the tune of approximately $400,000. He also pointed out that 57 per cent of speeders caught by photo enforcement were from out of town because most residents know the most likely locations of the city's photo radar units.
"Visitors, if they want to drive, please welcome. Just follow our speed limits."
