Coquitlam RCMP is asking for 12 new police officers over the next two years, a service enhancement that if approved by Coquitlam council, would add $1.8 million to the city's budget.
For the 2015 request, Insp. Byron Massie, the operations and support officer for the detachment, said he would like to hire six new Mounties, who would be deployed outside the regular rotation.
The officers would be used for a program he called E-watch, with a primary focus on patrolling high-crime areas identified by call statistics, as well as conducting foot patrols in areas like Town Centre and around the new Evergreen Line stations.
"E-watch would be a huge benefit for Coquitlam by providing additional focus on these hot spots and peak call times," he said during his presentation to council on Monday.
If council approves the request and adds new officers to this year's financial plan, it will cost the city $892,000. Hiring six more officers next year would add another $907,000 to the budget.
Given Coquitlam's rapid growth, Massie stated the city's crime rate may go up if the number of officers does not keep pace with the population.
While some councillors said they were pleased with the proposal, several stated they would like to see more officers deployed to deal with traffic issues.
Coun. Craig Hodge noted that during last fall's election campaign, he heard from a number of residents who said they were generally happy with the police service levels in the city but said not enough was being done to stop speeding and dangerous driving.
Supt. Claude Wilcott, head of the detachment, said that if the E-watch officers were deployed, it would free up other general-duty officers, who could be used for traffic patrol.
"They would have more of an opportunity to respond to those traffic complaints," he said.
A similar budget request for more officers is being made to city council in Port Coquitlam, which shares the detachment with Coquitlam.
But Wilcott said that if Coquitlam decides to fund the initiative and PoCo decides not to, the officers would be dedicated to operating within Coquitlam's boundaries.
"The beauty of this current request is that the crime hot spots are separated," Wilcott said. "If one community doesn't provide the same amount of resources, it can be managed and those resources would stay within the community that is paying the bill."
BIG BUCKS FOR MAINTENANCE
Perry Staniscia, the city's general manager of strategic initiatives, said that funding is desperately needed for a handful of maintenance and replacement costs at facilities across the municipality.
He pointed to several examples of work that needs to be done, including a new roof and refurbishment at Spani Pool. He also stated that the Evergreen Cultural Centre requires a new boiler, a replacement that could cost the city close to $100,000.
Staniscia's department was requesting a 1% tax increase dedicated to facility component replacement, an amount that works out to about $1.2 million.
The parks department made a similar request of a 1% increase, funding that is required to pay for priorities listed in the city's parks and recreation master plan.
Raul Allueva, Coquitlam's general manager of parks and recreation (his role recently changed from acting general manager to general manager), also requested:
$23,000 for outdoor recreational program support;
$65,000 for green waste and contaminated soil disposal;
$23,000 for cultural assets and inventory management;
and a $19,000 increase to the Canada Day celebrations budget.
The parks department is also looking to add several new staff members, including a full time mapping technician and an arts and culture manager.
Coquitlam engineering department has requested that council provide additional funds for the hiring of a full-time environmental projects manager. Engineering GM Jozsef Dioszeghy said the cost of adding the staffer would be approximately $135,000.
He also asked council for $100,000 for streetscaping and $240,000 for the city's pavement rehabilitation program.
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