Vancouver Police Board wants city to increase budget to $497M in 2026
CBC
The Vancouver Police Board has voted to approve a budget request of just over $497 million in 2026, a $50 million increase over 2025's final budget.
It comes just two days before the city's draft budget is presented to council, a budget of high intrigue given Mayor Ken Sim has been pushing for a zero per cent property tax increase.
At a meeting on Monday, Vancouver Police Board member Lorraine Lowe acknowledged there would likely be pushback to the budget request, as other city departments like the Park Board could face cuts in the budget.
But the board heard from staff members who said that the 4.9 per cent increase in the budget request was due to external cost increases that the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) can't control, as well as policing costs for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Still, Lowe acknowledged there would be pushback and questions for the police board about the extra cash — with the VPD already projected to go $17 million over budget in 2025.
"[For] the public ... the optics are, 'Oh, the police get everything they want,'" she said on Monday when questioning staff during the meeting.
Staff say that around $12 million of the new money they requested would help maintain existing service levels.
A further $9 million would help with "underfunded items" in the core budget, according to staff, related to contractual obligations and policing protests among other things.
"This proposed budget reflects a balanced approach between the VPD's needs and city council fiscal constraints," said VPD chief financial officer Nancy Eng at the meeting.
Scrutiny of the VPD budget is nothing new, given the police department takes up the largest chunk of the city's budget each year.
A recent CBC News investigation revealed that the department spent over $40 million in 2024 on overtime alone.
Lowe noted the perception that the VPD get a "blank cheque" each year from the city.
Still, the budget request passed on Monday with no additional debate from other board members.
The city's mayor has promised no cuts to policing, firefighting or libraries in the upcoming budget, despite the promise to not hike property taxes.
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