The Town of Gibsons’ police services select committee is recommending the Town opt for an agreement for RCMP policing when its population tops 5,000, but with a contract that spells out specific service levels.
The next census comes up in 2021 and if it shows Gibsons with a population of 5,000 or more, the Town will have to switch to a new police funding model on April 1, 2022.
BC Stats’ latest estimates say the population of Gibsons has already hit 4,943.
The committee, which included two retired detachment commanders and had input from current Sunshine Coast RCMP commander Staff Sgt. Poppy Hallam, was struck to help the Town prepare for the changes it will have to make when it no longer qualifies to have policing services provided by the province.
The Town has three options under the BC Police Act: start its own municipal police force, enter a contract with an existing municipal force in a neighbouring community, or enter a contract with the province for an RCMP municipal service.
“To date, all municipalities which have crossed the 5,000 population threshold have chosen the RCMP to provide their municipal policing services and therefore entered into a Municipal Police Unit Agreement (MPUA) with the Province,” the committee report says.
The Town already took a significant step in 2010 when it entered into an agreement with the RCMP to lease a new satellite office for the Sunshine Coast detachment in upper Gibsons which could, when the time comes, function as a stand-alone Gibsons detachment HQ.
The current RCMP structure on the Sunshine Coast is a regional service, with Sechelt paying 70 per cent of the cost for the municipal component and Gibsons and the Sunshine Coast Regional District covered as part of the RCMP’s rural service contract with the province.
Under that model, ratepayers in Gibsons pay about $403,000 in policing taxes to the province and the committee is estimating that under 70 per cent cost-sharing the Town would need to raise between $739,978.40 and $1,001,221.20 in new taxation, depending on the number of dedicated officers for Gibsons.
The committee’s report is scheduled to go to council Dec. 17, with a recommendation that its conclusions “be included in the upcoming 2020 budget discussions for consideration;” that negotiations of a future contract should include a cost-benefit analysis of having a separate RCMP detachment in Gibsons instead of remaining in the regional model; and “ensuring that the Town of Gibsons receives a high level of visible and meaningful police presence … whichever model is decided on during negotiations.”
The committee is also recommending that council draft a letter to the provincial and federal governments “urging them to review the cost-sharing formula for RCMP police services for those local governments with populations greater than 5,000 but less than 15,000,” similar to a 2016 Union of BC Municipalities resolution that called for a review “with consideration given to an incremental increase based on gradual population growth.”
