Hamilton Police want to keep a $3.7 million budget surplus

PoliceChief Eric Girt will make a case Thursday that the Hamilton Police Service be allowed to keep a $3.68 million budget surplus from last year and use it to help fundits new investigative headquarters.

That's nearly as much as theservice asked for as an increase in 2016's budget,approved in December.

We've desperately got to get this investigative services building underway.- Police Board chair Lloyd Ferguson

The plan for the surplusis set tobe one of the first public negotiations between the recently-promotedchief and the service's oversight board at the board's monthly meeting on Thursday.

Thedecision about a smaller, $1.8 million surpluswas contentious last year, whena board membergrilled then-Chief Glenn DeCaireabout why the city should cover any police deficits but not reap the benefits when there's a surplus.

Girt wants to set almost allof the $3.68 million surplus aside toward the construction of its new standaloneinvestigative services division headquarters, which DeCairedescribed as years overdue.

Saving up for a new investigative HQ

The two surpluses combined total almost $5.5 million and would account for roughly the service's share of the $16.5 million project.

ButCoun. Lloyd Ferguson, chair of the Police Services Board, doesn't expect the discussion to conclude the surplus isanything other than "exceedingly good news."

"I'm pleased that it's a surplus,not a shortfall," Ferguson said. "We've desperately got to get this investigative services building underway."

The money could help the service "get across the finish line," he said.

But Ferguson said the intricacies of accounting and reimbursement and revenues are the reason for the surplus, not any kind of sneakiness to get the money for the building.

"If you're trying to paint the picture that (the service) padded the budget on the levy to try to get the money, that's not true," Ferguson said.

When the budget was passed in December,Ferguson made special mention of thefact that the increase, $4.2 million, represented about2.8 per cent over the 2015 budgetthe lowest budget increase in 17 years.

But that was before nearly that same amountwas identified as extra. Hamilton Police said the budgets and expenditures have been audited and included copies of the auditin the agenda for Thursday's meeting.

Operational savings

The 2015 operating budget was around$158.7 million, offset by about $10 million in grants and revenues.

The police service is pursuing agreementswith the province and federal governments to each kick in one-third of the cost of the forensics building. Different numbers have been floated in estimates for the building, but it's expected to cost at least $16.5 million.

The first time the need for the building arose in police space planning was 1995, he said last fall.

The service attributes the surplus to the following:

• provincial reimbursements for Pan Am Games activities
• unbudgeted grants/subsidies
• greater revenue than expected in police fees
• savings in net expenditures

kelly.bennett@cbc.ca | @kellyrbennett