A triumvirate of police representatives will attend next week’s city council meeting and approve $40.1 million in city tax dollars.

Police Chief Hugh E. Stevenson is expected to be there. along with John Bruno, president of the local police services board, and Angela Davey, manager of financial services for the city’s police.

The $40.1 million they will ask the city for will pay for next year’s police budget, including a $3.1 million increase, representing an 8.2 percent spending increase from the previous year.

A slide presentation prepared by the trio for a city council meeting Tuesday attributes 6.4 percent of the 8.2 percent increase to wages and benefits in the collective bargaining agreement.

“The (police) board’s finance committee reduced operating and capital expenditures from 5.92 percent to 2.68 percent,” the filing says.

“The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has increased by two percent in the last 12 months. We have to take into account the added cost of the new Community Surveillance and Safety Law which places us slightly ahead of the CPI.”

Chief Stevenson and his entourage will argue that the Community Policing and Safety Act has:

• imposed mandatory firearms and training requirements
• Increased transparency in policing through greater mechanisms to review police actions, adding additional legal and investigative costs.
• expanded the responsibilities of special agents to allow these roles to take on tasks previously performed only by sworn officers.

Could the city council reject the police budget?

That’s kind of a gray area.

If you attempted to reject a budget approved by a local police board, the board could prepare a revised budget or you could appeal the city council’s decision to the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC).

At OCPC, the chances of success are considered slim.

Next week’s city council meeting will be held at 5 pm on Tuesday, November 12.

Sault Ste. Marie council meetings are usually held on Mondays, but November 11 is Remembrance Day.

The meeting will be broadcast live on SooHoy.