Why Surrey’s police budget request dropped by $47M and what’s behind the underspending
CBC
Surrey's police budget has dropped by nearly $47 million than what was initially requested, a move the police union called “reckless,” but the city says it’s adequate after the force underspent tens of millions last year.
Initially, the Surrey Police Board requested a budget of $331.5 million for 2026, a $91.3-million increase from the $240.1-million approved for 2025.
The increase was intended to fund a major expansion of the force, including hiring nearly 240 additional staff, as Surrey Police Service continues the police transition building its own municipal police service.
But after reviewing year-end spending, the police board and city agreed to reduce the proposed budget to $284.5 million.
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said the revised figure is the result of the police service not spending its full budget in 2025.
Police board chair Harley Chappell confirmed that by the end of last year, police had yet to spend about $40 million.
Ryan Buhrig, president of the Surrey Police Union, said he’s concerned about the underspending despite the police service being in the middle of replacing the RCMP and the dealing with the ongoing extortion crisis.
“Citizens in Surrey have been taxed for public safety and that money should be invested into public safety regardless of [whether] it's in one tax year versus the other,” Buhrig said.
"I think it is important to take a look through that budget carefully just to determine where the money is being spent."
Chappell says the unspent funds were the result of delays in hiring staff and building the infrastructure necessary for the transition.
“The surplus is largely due to delays in back office infrastructure and systems, IT information management, civilian vacancies that took longer to fill than expected and anticipated,” Chappell said.
He said those delays are common during a large-scale transition.
“The key point to that is public safety is not in jeopardy with the new budget. Things definitely look really good. We're happy with where we're at.”
The initial $331.5-million request reflected plans for rapid expansion as SPS takes over policing duties across Surrey.
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