Surrey city manager Rob Costanzo is supporting Mayor Brenda Locke鈥檚 claim that the Surrey Police Service is running a deficit budget in the wake of a flurry of press releases to the contrary.

鈥淭he Surrey Police Service (SPS) has asserted in a recent media release that Mayor Brenda Locke erred in claiming that SPS is running a deficit budget. This assertion is wrong,鈥� Costanzo is quoted in a Jan. 18 press release issued by the City of Surrey.

鈥淪PS鈥檚 own media release acknowledges that SPS vastly exceeded its 2023 approved budget,鈥� he stated. 鈥淲hile SPS submitted a proposed 2023 budget of $157.6M to the City, Surrey Council only authorized a budget of $48.8M. SPS does not deny it has far exceeded that limit. By law, SPS is prohibited from spending amounts not approved by Surrey Council.鈥�

Earlier this week the Surrey Police Board and Surrey Police Union for 鈥渆rroneously鈥� claiming the Surrey Police Service is running a deficit budget over $26 million but Locke stands by that claim.

鈥淭hey are running a deficit budget, $26 million-plus deficit budget,鈥� she told the Now-Leader on Jan. 17. 鈥淭hose aren鈥檛 my numbers, those are the numbers we get from our accounting department at city hall.鈥�

鈥淚 told the in August, stop hiring. They didn鈥檛. They didn鈥檛. They didn鈥檛. Then we told them again in December, no more hires. And they went ahead and hired anyway.鈥�

Rick Stewart, president of the Surrey Police Union, released a statement on Jan. 16 鈥渇ollowing budget misinformation released by Mayor Brenda Locke earlier today.鈥�

鈥淭he Surrey Police Union (SPU) is expressing significant concern over the dissemination of inaccurate information by Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke that is being used to sow confusion among residents and undermine the credibility of Surrey Police Service (SPS), the Surrey Police Board, and our dedicated members,鈥� Stewart charged.

Costanzo argues that the SPS doesn鈥檛 have authority to 鈥渦nilaterally spend over its approved budget. That is not how municipal budgeting works.鈥�

The city manager says the SPS 鈥渇ailed to take any steps in a timely way to challenge or revisit Surrey Council鈥檚 budget approval鈥� and 鈥渨as required to do so before spending unapproved funds.鈥�

This latest storm in Surrey鈥檚 policing transition saga brewed after Locke said during council鈥檚 Jan. 15 meeting she wants to 鈥減rovide some clarity鈥� on the furor in the media a week prior by Premier David Eby, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth and the Surrey Police Union concerning the city鈥檚 refusal to pay 10 Surrey Police Service recruits.

She said both the City of Surrey and the provincially-appointed administrator for the Surrey Police Board had flagged SPS budget overruns, and in light of the deficit, the SPS, was told in August and December to stop more hiring. Eby called the city鈥檚 decision not to add the 10 recruits to the benefits system and payroll 鈥渋ncredibly frustrating.鈥�

According to Costanzo, Surrey city council is the 鈥渙nly body legally authorized to review and approve proposed budgets, and SPS chose to spend over and above the approved budget without first obtaining Council鈥檚 authorization.鈥�

The city manager also rebutted Surrey Police Board administrator Mike Serr鈥檚 assertion that the policing transition is legally bound to continue, noting that is 鈥渃urrently before the courts.鈥�

鈥淚n the meantime, it would be unfair to taxpayers for the City to condone SPS鈥檚 spending and hiring without limitation, approval or legal authority. While it is unfortunate that new officers may have accepted positions without being aware of these circumstances, the City maintains that this is entirely due to SPS鈥檚 failure to be transparent with its recruits concerning its budget restraints and legal obligations,鈥� Costanzo asserted.

As for the SPS, its spokesman Ian MacDonald said Jan. 19 the positions 鈥渟taked out鈥� by Serr, the Surrey Police Board and Farnworth 鈥渟heds as much light as is reasonable on the issue.鈥�

Meantime, Coun. Gordon Hepner, of Surrey Connect, said that in his opinion 鈥渋t doesn鈥檛 matter who is going to police the city.

鈥淭he problem is the money that is going to be spent on changing the actual direction to the SPS is so vast that I can鈥檛 afford it,鈥� he told the Now-Leader. 鈥淟ike, I can鈥檛 afford it myself, and I can鈥檛 imagine that somebody in a less financially gifted situation than I am in is going to be able to afford it. It鈥檚 all about the money. Just if you want to change the direction, give the city the money, and that鈥檚 all there is to it.鈥�

Locke noted that the SPS was 鈥渟upposed to be on the ground, police of jurisdiction, on April 1, 2021. It never happened. All they are doing is hiring. They haven鈥檛 got a plan, they still haven鈥檛 got a plan. There鈥檚 way more to a police transition like this that just hiring people. That is not going to get us there. They haven鈥檛 got a plan, the provincial government hasn鈥檛 got a plan, Jessica McDonald (appointed to oversee the transition) doesn鈥檛 have a plan, Mike Serr certainly has not got a plan, and so without a plan I don鈥檛 know why they鈥檙e continuing to hire.

鈥淪urrey has currently got a police of jurisdiction that is the RCMP, it will remain that way, because these guys, the Surrey Police Service, just can鈥檛 get it done and they鈥檝e proved that over and over again,鈥� she told the Now-Leader. 鈥淲e have to be real about this. They鈥檝e had almost five years now, and we鈥檙e still no further ahead than we were then. We don鈥檛 have a plan.鈥�

Nathan Wong, the SPS鈥檚 senior manager of finance, said during a Surrey Police Board meeting Jan. 19 that in September the SPS鈥檚 total projected expenditures for 2023 was $75.4 million. 鈥淥ur financial modeling at the time indicates that 85 per cent of our total costs would be salaries and benefits.鈥� At the end of November, he said, total expenses were at $66 million, roughly 87 per cent of the total projected for the year. 鈥淎t that point, there was no indication that we were going to be over the $75 million projection.鈥�

At the end of November, Wong noted, the SPS had 384 employees. The City of Surrey鈥檚 2023 policing budget had a total of $330 million, broken into three streams of funding 鈥� $116 million for police support services, $165 million for the RCMP contract and $49 million for SPS, he told the board.

鈥淎lso within the $330 million was $82 million that the city has expected to pay out for severance. But this $82 million was actually sitting in the police support service budget and not SPS although any severance obligation is actually from the board and not from the city, so any overspending beyond the $49 million technically would be offset by not spending the $82 million in severance,鈥� Wong explained. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 why we don鈥檛 exceed that overall budget envelope for $330 million.鈥�

The SPS is still waiting to hear on the 2024 budget that鈥檚 been submitted, Serr said, 鈥渁nd we鈥檒l continue to work through that.鈥�

The board鈥檚 next meeting is set for March 5.