When city council returns from its summer break, it will face a much-delayed discussion of the Edmonton Police Service funding formula that has been marinating in dire warnings about strained resources and unsafe streets.
"There is a game being played here, and it's important to be mindful of that. We, of course, have a funding formula for the police just for this year," Speaking Municipally co-host Mack Male said on Episode 227, noting that the discussion of what to do with the remaining three years of this budget cycle is now set for Aug. 22, after several postponements. "(The police) craft and build up this narrative over the months leading up to this very important discussion."
For example, the death of Rukinisha Nkundabatware at the Belvedere LRT station and other violent incidents led Det. Jared Buhler to warn Edmontonians to avoid "any interaction with anyone that gives you any sense of uncertainty, because you can literally end up with a knife in your chest." Meanwhile, police say they lack resources despite the addition of sheriffs, peace officers, and funding for the Healthy Streets Operations Centre.
"On Twitter, at least, all the responses are 'Oh my god, things are falling apart under Mayor (Amarjeet) Sohi,'" Male said. "The police don't have any accountability here. It's all about our terrible politicians. And so that's what's going to contribute to making that really difficult, important decision for council so much harder than it needs to be."
Meanwhile, council will have to reap what it sowed when it excluded salary adjustments from the one-year interim funding formula it agreed to in October 2022. Podcast co-host Troy Pavlek likened that decision to "pulling the pin out of a grenade and sliding it under the desk and hoping it doesn't go off." It has indeed gone off, with an arbitrator awarding back pay amounting to an estimated $19.7 million: $4.1 million for 2021, $8.4 million for 2022, and $7.2 million for 2023.
"Council doesn't want to raise taxes at the fall supplementary budget adjustment," Pavlek said. "What's going to get cut in order to manage this lump sum payment to the police?"
Hear more about these issues, as well as the opioid crisis, road investment, the Wolf Den, Capital City Pilots, and a national urban park in the river valley on the July 14 episode of Taproot's civic affairs podcast.
Photo: Edmonton's city council will face a difficult discussion of the police funding formula when it returns from its summer break. (Mack Male/Flickr)