Mayor Brian Bowman grills Winnipeg police over planned layoffs, budget shortfall

A special meeting of the city's executive policy committee gotheated in Winnipeg on Tuesday.

The committee is mulling over details of the Winnipeg Police Service's $2.45-million budget shortfall.

The preliminary 2016 police service budget includes plans tolayoff 40 of 68 cadets,cancelthe 2016 recruitment class and lay off 20 of 37 members enrolled in the class, the police board revealed at its meeting Friday.

• Winnipeg police face $2.45M budget shortfall for 2016, board confirms
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Mayor Brian Bowman and the executive policy committee grilled the police board on Tuesday morningover its proposed layoffs. The city hasalready offered to boost funding to the police service by6.3 per cent this year, but it's not enough, according to outgoing police Chief Devon Clunis.Thepolice board is asking thecity to shell out more money tohelp cover theshortfall.

Members of the EPC fired questions at Don Norquay, the executive director of the police board, suggesting the force has to live within its means and within the confines of that6.3 per cent funding boost,an increase well above the cost of inflation.

Bowman sniped at the suggestion the city send more money to the service, saying, "Perhaps next year you should ask for a billion dollars."

Bowman added that thepolice service hasto get its spending increases downto the rate of inflation next year.

Police board vice-chair Barry Tuckett told reporters the shortfall comes because of increases in salaries for officers and rising costs associated with moving to the new police headquarters. The board looked everywhere for savings to avoid layoffsand will look again, Tuckettadded.

Follow CBC Manitoba's city hall reporter Sean Kavanagh on Twitter (@SKKav)for updates from the EPC meeting.