Calgary council approves using $28 million from reserves to plug hole in police budget

Brendan Coulter · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 8:53 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Calgary metropolis assembly has agreed to walk $28 cardinal from the city's Fiscal Stability Reserve to marque up for a shortfall successful the Calgary Police Service (CPS) budget. 

The shortfall is the effect of gross loss brought connected by new provincial rules limiting the usage of photograph radar, resulting successful declining automated enforcement summons revenues.

"We person made a batch of investments into nationalist information implicit the past fewer years and we can't easiness our ft disconnected that pedal," said Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek. 

"We person made a committedness to Calgarians that we volition guarantee they unrecorded successful a harmless metropolis and portion of doing that is making definite that the constabulary fund is decently funded."

The Alberta authorities has pledged to reappraisal each photograph radar ticketing tract successful the province, with the anticipation to slash the fig of camera locations by 70 per cent. 

On Tuesday, metropolis assembly agreed to rethink however it funds the police, to debar an over-reliance on uncertain summons revenue. 

"With the metropolis moving towards backing [police] done a taxation base, it allows constabulary to absorption connected information without having to usage gross arsenic a driver," said Ward 7 Councillor Terry Wong, who sits connected the Calgary Police Commission board. 

A $28-million shortfall would person enactment astir 61 constabulary positions astatine risk, CPS said.

"One of the things we did not privation to do, fixed wherever we are close present and the explosive colonisation maturation successful the city, is to unopen down the hiring," said Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld, adding that initially CPS did person to frost hiring. 

Photo radar shouldn't be 'cash cow,' provincial authorities argues

The Alberta authorities has called photograph radar a "cash cow," utilized with a absorption connected gross alternatively than safety. 

"It was ne'er expected to beryllium the main root of backing for policing successful Edmonton and Calgary, oregon immoderate municipality successful the province," said Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen past month, aft CPS announced the gross shortfall. 

"Photo radar and the gross from it was ever expected to beryllium astir postulation safety." 

Before its crackdown connected photograph radar, Alberta had 2,200 approved photograph radar sites — much than immoderate different province, according to the province. 

A metropolis medication study to assembly says the fig of tickets issued and postulation good gross are already down, with much changes connected the way.

Starting April 1, photograph radar usage volition beryllium restricted to school, playground and operation zones, and inspection information devices utilized to summons speeding volition beryllium constricted to reddish airy enforcement only.

The state said municipalities tin petition further photograph radar locations connected an "exceptional basis" by providing a concern lawsuit explaining wherefore the exertion is needed.

CPS plans to enactment guardant a database of intersections for that information this spring.

"What we're hoping for is that, due to the fact that we already person information and we'll beryllium collecting further data, that we'll beryllium capable to marque truly bully cases for high-traffic collision areas and needing to person those areas monitored," said Calgary Police Commission Chair Amtul Siddiqui.

Approximately two-thirds of Calgary's wounded collisions hap connected higher-speed roads, metropolis medication said, adding that restricting photograph radar usage removes a traffic information instrumentality constabulary tin usage connected these routes.

Calgary Police issued much than 200,000 automated enforcement tickets successful 2024.