Winnipeg budget 2016 passes, police layoffs avoided

Winnipeg city councillors have passed the2016 capital and operating budgets. The majority was won with a vote of10-6.

Highlights in the budget include$2.4 million for sidewalk renewal and$105.2 million earmarked for local and regional street renewal.

The budget includes a$280.7 million commitment to the Winnipeg Police Service and a$190.1 million commitment to the Fire Paramedic Service budget, said a City of Winnipeg release on Tuesday.

"I want to thank council for showing confidence in this year's balanced budget which makes record investments in infrastructure, maintains and invests in key services Winnipeggers have said they need and builds our city for the future," said Mayor Brian Bowman in the release.

Police budget avoids layoffs

Winnipeg councillorsalsovoted through the 2016 Winnipeg Police Servicebudget Tuesday amid complaints that the process was rushed and confusing.

The Winnipeg Police Board said the police service secured fundingthatensures the force won't have to go through with cost-saving layoffs this year.

"I'm pleased that we were able to respect taxpayers but also to ensure that the Winnipeg Police Board's strategic plan is respected and their recommendation that was proposed today was adopted," said Mayor Bowman.

The city previously committed to a 6.3 per cent budget increase for 2016 for the Winnipeg Police Service. Winnipeg Police Association president MauriceSabourinsaidthatincrease wasn'tenough because calls to police are on the rise.

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"If there's more calls for service out there, there should be more resources for our members to be able to combat that,"Sabourinsaid."Currently our response times are some of the worst in the country,and to cut further from the police service will only see an increase in response times."

While the police board have said the shortfall was $2.4 million, on Tuesday a release from the board said the shortfall was actually$3.5 million.

Re-routing money from body cameras which would have cost $1 million and trimming other police spending was approved by councillors,whovoted 12 to four to pass the amended police budget.

Body-worn camera project cut

The board said cutting theproposed body-worn camera project wasn't an easy call.

"This was a difficult decision for the board, especially as the body-worn camera pilot was identified as a priority in the board's strategic plan,"Coun.Gillinghamsaid in a statement."The board remains interested in the potential of body-worn cameras and will consider a pilot project in the future if the funding is available."

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Severalcouncillorscomplained about the budget process in its entirety.Coun. Russ Wyatt said this year's process has been dysfunctional and riddled with problems.

Sabourinsaid he's happy no one with the police service is going to lose their jobs this year to cuts, but maintains the whole process was rushed.

"We think that theamendmentthat has been tabled today is just another example of Brian Bowman trying to ram this budget through citycouncil," he said.

"For a person that ran his campaign on being open, honest and accountability (sic), we find it very interesting that he's trying to ram this budget through council in only 20 days, when there are people that are working on this eight months out of the year and all of a sudden ... not take into account what the stakeholders are feeling or thinking."