New five-year agreements with the RCMP to provide municipal policing in Warman and Martensville have been endorsed by both city councils.
Martensville City Council approved an agreement at a video-conference meeting on Tuesday, June 16, while Warman City Council followed suit during a video-conference meeting on Monday, June 22.
The new agreements, which take effect April 1, 2021 and expire March 31, 2026, outline projected costs for personnel, offices, equipment and operating expenses.
The agreements basically represent a renewal of existing arrangements. The RCMP presents a multi-year plan (MYP) to each city council annually for review and endorsement. The document provides a forecast for the upcoming fiscal year as well as cost projections for the next five years.
The Warman RCMP detachment provides 24-hour policing to Warman, Martensville and a large rural area north and west of Saskatoon. While RCMP officers are assigned to specific urban municipalities or rural areas, they respond to calls and incidents throughout the detachment coverage area as needed. In addition to offices in Warman and Martensville, the detachment also has satellite offices in Delisle and Radisson.
The forecast of expenses outlined in the agreement is calculated by pooling the bulk costs for all municipalities under 15,000 population that are served by the RCMP, divided by the total of full-time equivalent (FTE) working members in these locations.
The expenses include direct costs such as salary, vehicles, and equipment; as well as indirect costs including CPP, EI, and pension plan payments.
The average cost per RCMP member in Saskatchewan for 2020-21 is $111,806. This is projected to increase to $115,872 in 2021-22, according to the RCMP.
The agreement outlines three new initiatives the RCMP intends to invest in beginning next year. These include:
* Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK), an android smartphone application that enhances police officers’ ability to connect to real time critical information using GPS and other tools.
* Mobile repeaters to be installed in police vehicles to assist with radio reception and signal coverage issues in remote, rural areas across Saskatchewan.
* Equipment for response to serious crimes and gang activities. RCMP officers are often called on to respond to serious and violent calls for service, often involving firearms, other weapons, and gang affiliations. These incidents sometimes can lead to vehicle pursuits, active shooter scenarios and the potential for traumatic injuries. The equipment includes front line trauma kits for dangerous situations where regular EMT personnel may not be able to approach the injured person.
The yearly estimate of pooled cost and location-specific costs for the City of Warman for 2020-21, based on 9 FTE utilization, is estimated at $1,075,814. The city is billed quarterly, in four equalized payments, by the RCMP.
The yearly estimate for the City of Martensville for 2020-21, based on 8 FTE positions, is estimated at $962,758. Payment is made by the city in four equalized payments.