Peel Region council is asking police to reduce their budget request for 2025, saying their proposed increase of more than $100 million would require too much of a hike on municipal property tax.
The rejected proposal would have raised Peel Regional Police’s operational budget by $131.7 million, bringing the total police budget up to $749.4 million.
After a successful motion put forward by Coun. Brad Butt Thursday, council said the proposed 2025 police budget constitutes over half of the municipality’s overall annual budget, and the requested increase would result in an overall property tax increase of 4.1 per cent.
The proposed property tax increase would have been the highest in years, the motion read, and “is not sustainable or affordable for property taxpayers during very difficult economic times.” The proposed increase to the police budget would have been the largest ever in the history of the service.
The motion directed Peel Regional Police to “review and reconsider” the budget, asking the service to lower its financial request to reduce the impact on the property tax.
Police had said the raise would have funded 300 new officer hires and helped the service address a rise in violent crime.
The proposal was approved by the Peel Police Services Board earlier this month.
The approval was met with pushback from concerned residents and organizations, and prompted Mayor Carolyn Parrish to resign from the board, saying she did not support it.