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The Surrey Police Board is seeking a $91 million increase over the previous budget, which would be an 18 per cent property tax increase for taxpayers.
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke says that much of an increase is way too high.
“That’s just not going to happen,” she said. “It can’t happen.”
Locke said the city already increased its policing budget last year and the $91 million increase equals a 38 per cent increase over 2025’s budget.
She said that the increase is more than the entire year’s budget for the Surrey Fire and Rescue Service.
“Every level of government knows what affordability is doing to our residents right now and we can’t bring forward a budget that, on policing alone, is an 18 per cent increase,” Locke added.
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The City of Surrey released its provisional budget from the Surrey Police Board on Tuesday, but Locke said the city is asking the police board to go back to the drawing board.
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“We know it’s going to cost more for a municipal police force but this is completely unacceptable,” Locke said.
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Locke said the policing budget increase is not tied to the extortion task force, as it is a provincially-funded initiative.
Surrey councillor and mayoral candidate Linda Annis told Global News it is important to remember that the police board’s budget is a draft.
“I’ve checked with the Surrey Police Board to get their input and they’re well within the $250 million funding envelope that the province has given them,” she said.
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Annis said this transition has become a “political football,” but it is expected that a transition of this magnitude should require additional funding.
“This should not cost the taxpayers any more money. The premier has gone on record saying that and I think one of the things, once we’ve gone through the numbers, and we haven’t gone through the numbers as I stated, this is a draft budget, we need to go through the numbers and decide what we’re going to land on,” she added.
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