A screenshot from a PAPS recruitment video (PAPS)

By paNOW Staff

taxes

P.A. city council to ponder $35 property tax for four new cops

Apr 8, 2021 | 5:00 PM

Prince Albert City Council is considering a new tax that would pay for the four new officers the P.A. Police Service (PAPS) says it needs.

The new base tax would be $35 per property.

The idea is to be discussed at Monday’s council meeting.

In a media release Thursday afternoon, mayor Greg Dionne said, in part, they “heard loud and clear during the last election that policing was an issue for residents. This base tax is applied equally to every door in Prince Albert whether you are residential, multi-residential or commercial. We all benefit from effective policing and this will generate the revenue we need to support the Police Service.”

The media release explained the police department handles more calls than other similar sized agencies across the province. It had 40,000 calls for service in 2020, and 30 per cent of those involved police interactions with people from outside P.A. city limits.

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In the media release, PAPS chief Jon Bergen said, in part, his members respond to an average 50 calls during each 12-hour shift.

“If a base tax is approved it would allow for additional police resources in Prince Albert equipping us to deploy members to more proactive and preventive policing initiatives that would better balance the work load of our front-line members and enhance our overall service to the community,” he said.

According to council documents, the new tax would generate $554,505 in 2021.

The city has already approved a $17.4 million dollar police budget for 2021. Policing accounts for 25 per cent of the city’s entire general fund budget.

paNOW contacted Dionne but he was not immediately available for comment.

The entire media release from the City of Prince Albert can be viewed here.

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panews@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @princealbertnow