Surrey taxpayers face big property tax hike if SPS transition continues

A staff report presented to Surrey City Council last month sheds light on the immense cost of the police transition in Surrey. According to that report, the costs for the Surrey Police Service are estimated to be $235M more than maintaining the RCMP as Surrey’s Police of Jurisdiction over the next 5 years. To recover this funding gap in the upcoming year a one-time tax increase of 55% would be required, in addition to the normal tax rate set by Council.

It is abundantly clear that a switch to the Surrey Police Service would create an untenable financial burden for Surrey taxpayers during these challenging economic times. It is also unreasonable to advance the City’s budget process any further without knowing which economic scenario the City will face.

Given the economic hardship facing Surrey taxpayers if the transition continues and the fact that the City needs to finalize its budget, it is vital that the Province move quickly to endorse Council’s decision to retain the RCMP.

Surrey voters need the facts, not multiple financial numbers from the SPS, RCMP and city hall: Councillor Linda Annis

Surrey First Councillor Linda Annis says a statement from Mayor Brenda Locke today claiming there would be a 55 per cent tax increase to continue with the Surrey police transition is a scare tactic that continues to muddy the waters and reinforces the need for real, independent financial numbers around the choice of police services.

"I have always wanted the real facts and frankly was shocked that the city identified more than 40 different assumptions that had to be made as it prepared its report on the cost of the transition," noted Annis. "That’s a ridiculous number of assumptions and begs the question, just how much of the financial report can we take seriously, and that applies to the mayor’s 55 per cent tax increase statement."

Annis said there should have been an "independent set of eyes" on the financial numbers around transition.

"Instead, we have numbers from the SPS, the RCMP, and the city, and these multiple versions continue to leave Surrey taxpayers on the sideline and in the dark about the real facts," added Annis. "As a result, this statement from the mayor about a 55 per cent tax increase adds even more confusion and doubt, and really feels like a last-ditch effort to scare Surrey voters, rather than inform them with the real financial facts and figures."