Majority Of MJPS Accumulated Surplus Used To Fund Labour Agreements Chief Says
By Robert Thomas
Moose Jaw Police Services Accumulated Surplus As High As $1.1 Million Over Ten Year Period
After a major computer glitch at City Hall, who provide third party accounting services to the Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS), the Moose Jaw Board of Police Commissioners were able to learn exactly how much is in the MJPS’s surplus was for 2022.
The MJPS surplus for 2022 was $229,202.20. The surplus was the result of the MJPS not hiring the full complement of officers that have been approved.
Adding the $229,202.20 to the $165,933.49 already in the MJPS’s Accumulated Surplus account leaves the account with a balance of 395,135.69 as of December 31, 2022.
In 2022 the MJPS had an approved officer strength of 64 officers but due to the inability to hire the approved compliment of officers there were left over funds which went into the MJPS’s Accumulated Surplus Account.
The MJPS budget request is submitted by the Moose Jaw Board of Police Commissioners to Council for approval,
The City of Moose Jaw transfers over the approved amounts to the MJPS, left over funds - or the surplus funds - are transferred into the Accumulated Surplus account and not returned to City coffers.
At last week’s Moose Jaw Board of Police Commission MJPS Chief Rick Bourassa said the majority of the Accumulated Surplus is spent on wage increases negotiated with the Moose Jaw Police Association.
The Moose Jaw Board of Police Commissioners puts away money for anticipated retroactive wages and benefits that are negotiated with the two labour organizations CUPE and the Moose Jaw Police Association (MJPA).
This round of negotiation the MJPA managed to negotiate a retroactive pay increase of 1.8 per cent in 2021 and a 1.95 per cent retroactive pay increase for 2022.
The MJPA additionally negotiated a 2.9 per cent pay increase in 2023 for its members.
According to documents obtained by MJ Independent through a Freedom Of Information (FOI) request the MJPS’s Accumulated Surplus was $1.137 million in 2013.
According to the FOI - pictured below - over a ten year period the MJPS drew down the Accumulated Surplus account by $742,165.34 over the ten year period.
A copy of the file showing the annual totals of the Moose Jaw Board of Police Commissioners budget’s accumulated surplus - source Freedom of Information Request by MJ Independent
According to the documents the MJPS had four deficit and six surplus years over the ten year period.
The highest surplus year was last year with a surplus of $229,202.20 with the second highest surplus year over the ten year period being 2013 when $224,579.07 was surplus funds.
It needs to be noted the documents do not indicate why the MJPS had such a large surplus in 2013.
Due to the lax or lack of reporting during the day there is no media record as to what reasons there were for the 2013 surplus.
The MJPS did run a major deficit of $698,731.51 in 2019.
No official reasons are given in the documents as to reasons for the large deficit but it needs to be noted the MJPA and the Board of Police Commissioners signed what was seen as a very generous contract in April 2019 where wage increases exceeded the rate of inflation.
Police officers saw salary increases of 2.75 per cent in 2017, 2.25 per cent in 2018, 1.9 per cent in 2019 and 2.5 per cent in 2020 as part of that deal.
According to Statistics Canada the inflation rate (Consumer Price Index) in Canada in 2019 was 1.95 percent, in 2018 inflation was 2.27 percent and in 2017 inflation was 1.6 percent.
Additional expenditures which came out of the Accumulated Surplus were $236,000 as a contribution to roof repairs at the MJPS Fairford street headquarters.
The Accumulated Surplus was also accessed to pay the travel expenses of Commissioner Mary Lee Booth of $1050.42. The documents do not indicate what the travel expenses were for.
In 2014 the Accumulated Surplus was accessed for $7,632.18 to pay for flag poles.