HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil - 2010-04-19 SSPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES
APRIL 19, 2010 CITY OF KITCHENER
A special meeting of City Council was held at 4:10 p. m. this date, chaired by Mayor C. Zehr with all
members present.
Notice of this meeting had been previously given to all members of Council by the City Clerk pursuant
to Chapter 25 (Council Procedure) of the Municipal Code.
Moved by Councillor K. Galloway
Seconded by Councillor B. Vrbanovic
"That an in-camera meeting of City Council be held this date to consider alitigation /potential
litigation matter."
Carried.
Mayor C. Zehr advised that the focus of the special meeting of Council would be to receive
presentations from the Waterloo Regional Police Services Board and to have a discussion on any Police
Services issues.
Mr. T. Galloway, Chair, Police Services Board (WRPSB), introduced the members of the Board: Ms. G.
Sudden, Vice Chair, and Board members Mr. K. Selling, Ms. P. Haskell, Mr. B. Hagey, Mr. W. Roth and
Ms. M. Rivera who was in attendance for part of the meeting. Chair Galloway also introduced Police
Chief M. Torigian and Deputy Chiefs M. Mann and B. Tomlinson.
Chair Galloway then gave a presentation outlining the Board's mandate and its responsibilities, the
appointment of Board members, the Board's relationship with the Chief of Police and the budget
relationship with Regional Council.
Mayor Zehr inquired about the complaint guidelines and the types of complaints that would be referred
directly to the Provincial body as opposed to neighbourhood issues. Chair Galloway explained that the
Police Services Board cannot accept complaints, either in respect to services or police conduct.
Complaints with respect to police conduct are referred directly to the Provincial Office of Independent
Police Review Director (OIPRD) and complaints regarding services are directed to the Police Services
administration. However, under recent changes to the Ontario Public Complaints Process, legislation
now provides that any complaint can be referred directly to the OIPRD.
Chief Torigian and Deputy Chiefs Mann and Tomlinson gave a presentation regarding the Waterloo
Regional Police Services Strategic Business Plan which sets the framework for neighbourhood policing,
optimizing service levels and staffing requirements. Chief Torigian explained that one of the major
challenges is matching patrol staffing with workload and meeting demands for better utilization of staff
resources.
During questions and answers, it was noted that police service zones are currently being redrawn based
on call volume and workloads to ensure an equitable distribution across all zones. Recent Federal
funding to accommodate additional hires is not sustainable as it is based on a one time allocation, over 5
years. Leaders of the Police Services are advocating for change relative to administrative costs; ie.
efficiencies in the giving of Court testimony, on-line reporting and other support technology. Police
Services is engaged in programs to support education and prevention of crimes (eg. CPTED); however,
applying a fee for service to do home inspections /safety audits is not feasible as legislation prohibits
revenue generation over and above cost recovery. Development of intervention strategies for young
people engaged in criminal activity continues to be a high priority; eg. School Resource Officer program
(high schools). Maximizing civilian resources is an important consideration; however, this also has
budgetary and workload impact to be taken into account. Costs per capita among the 5 lowest Police
Services cannot be compared on an "apples to apples" basis given variables in accounting practices.
Chair Galloway commended Police Services for operating at a cost efficient level, with statistics
demonstrating low crime and high level service satisfaction rates. Going forward, one of the Board's
primary issues will be continued investigation of efficiencies to create additional time that can be spent
on pro-active policing.
On motion the meeting adjourned at 5:35 p. m.
MAYOR CLERK