(BRENDAN KERGIN/FILE PHOTO / iNFOnews.ca)

Cities shouldn't have to cough up a quarter of their budget for policing when other governments only cover a tenth of the cost, according to some Kamloops city councillors.

Councillors Katie Neustaeter and Kelly Hall are proposing they negotiate with the provincial and federal governments to find ways to better fund policing beyond property taxes, and they're looking to other cities to join the cause.

"This is about contracts that are completely out of our control and feeling like the federal government does not really care how they impact municipal budgets," she told iNFOnews.ca. "This downloading is something we cannot bear anymore."

BC has the largest contingent of municipal RCMP detachments in the country, and cities of 15,000 people or more take on 90% of the bill. That excludes costs for police detachment buildings and civilian staff which, although RCMP has strong influence, the City is entirely accountable for. The cost-share model is determined by the federal and provincial governments, but those higher levels also pull tax revenue from multiple sources as opposed to the city's primarily property tax-funded budget.

For Kamloops it's $44 million from property taxes that goes to policing, increased in recent years to bolstered police ranks, and buy body cameras and other equipment like new handguns. While city council can decide when to put money toward new hires, they have no say on other decisions like new equipment.

Neustaeter and Hall's proposal to send a motion to the Southern Interior Local Government Association where regional leaders will vote on having a unified voice on the matter, was made at a council meeting, Feb. 4, and received councils approval.

"We hope the province and the federal government will recognize at this moment they can create a solution for everyone," Neustaeter said.

Councillor Bill Sarai represents Kamloops at the Southern Interior association and he said it's a concern that's been voiced by other cities already. He suspects others will be open to joining in the effort, a sentiment echoed by councillor Nancy Bepple as she suggested she may take the proposal to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, where she is the representative for Kamloops.

Policing is the latest agenda item for Neustaeter's push against "downloading" from higher levels of government, but the province does offer ways for BC cities to have more autonomy over its police forces.

Just 12 BC cities have their own police departments and they are governed by their own police boards, taking on budget decisions, establishing policing local standards and overseeing discipline authority. They also come with 100% responsibility for police funding.

Neustaeter said forming a local department is not currently on the table when asked how she would respond to such a suggestion.

"I actually don't think that is something the province wants. We saw how hard they fought that with Surrey. We know there are great concerns that shakes up the entire model," she said. "It also is very challenging for members to do their work when there is that kind of disruption."

In 2018, Surrey city council voted for the transition, spurring a years-long process. The job for BC's second-largest city with the largest RCMP detachment has been wrought with speed bumps, a mayor elected with the intention of reversing the decision and nearly-futile incentives from the province to see it through.

Local policing command was handed to Surrey Police Service in November 2024, but the full transition may not be complete until 2027.

"What we're saying is we see that trajectory happening because municipalities cannot shoulder this financial burden, find something that works for everyone instead of causing everyone to fracture in this independent way that has all sorts of other ramifications," Neustaeter said.

The transition in Surrey could be a benefit for local detachments with experienced RCMP officers potentially available for hire, but it could also bring costs as RCMP traffic tickets are pooled and shared across the province rather than remaining in local coffers. As Kamloops officials plan their 2025 budget, they expect a smaller payout without Surrey RCMP's contribution.

Whether the province or the federal government will be open to contributing more to local detachments isn't known, but there are changes ahead for those contracts beyond just BC.

Just a few years away RCMP's federal contract for municipal policing has a looming 2032 expiry. In 2022, a BC legislative committee also recommended several changes to provincial policing, including the creation of a a provincial police force that would oust RCMP as BC's main law enforcement body.

Now is a good time to set the table for negotiations, according to Hall.

"Now's the time to come together and propose changes," he said. "Work through (the Union of BC Municipalities) to make significant changes ahead of the federal expiry date."

Replacing RCMP in Kamloops would be costly, but such a change would also affect policing throughout the region, further complicating how such a move would work. The Kamloops RCMP rural detachment, connected but not funded by local taxes, spans a jurisdiction that includes Tk'emlups, Savona, Sun Peaks and Paul Lake.

Neustaeter added the efforts to negotiate a new funding model are not based on criticisms of the local detachment's performance.

The motion is set to be considered at the Southern Interior Local Government Association at the end of April in Merritt, a community so hampered by RCMP costs it may lose 24-hour policing in an effort to cut costs.

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