City Council has delayed a decision on a $2,961,900 increase to the Halifax Regional Police budget for 2022-2023.
HRP Chief Dan Kinsella says they’ve requested the increased funding to hire 26 new uniformed officers and ten new civilian workers.
The budget committee discussed the recommendation from the Board of Police Commissioners, the civilian oversight group for HRP, to approve the increased spending Wednesday.
Council heard from 20 community members, academics, and advocacy groups universally opposed to the budget increase.
Chief Kinsella defended the request, saying they haven’t expanded the 530-member force since 2010, despite Halifax being among the fastest growing cities in the country.
He says they must pull staff from support positions to fill patrol shifts and that’s unsustainable.
Council delayed a decision on their recommendation until another round of discussion, after in camera discussions ran long.
That meeting is set for Friday.
