Belleville Police Service Board votes against reducing 15% increase in 2026 budget

Belleville Police Service Board voted against making cuts to the 2026 Police Operating Budget to reduce the proposed 15% increase.

Framing the 15% increase as “non-negotiable,” the Board argued that strict mandates under the Community Safety and Policing Act and the risk of legal liability leave “zero options” for cost-cutting. Chief Murray Rodd and Board members defended the budget as the “minimum investment” required to handle rising crime complexity and population growth. Despite disliking the steep hike, Mayor Neil Ellis supported the decision, concluding that the municipality has a binding “duty of care” to fully fund the service.

Board Chair Heather Smith said officers’ investigations are growing increasingly complex and time-consuming, including sexual assault, mental health, and domestic calls.

We are trying to meet increasing service demands and must meet the standards of the Community Safety Policing Act.  Not only must we comply with terms of policy, personnel and equipment, we were clearly told in our several community engagement sessions that the public expected visibility, engagement, response, safe streets, and a safe downtown.

Chair of the Board Heather Smith

We have to move forward to improve and respond to what the community has demanded – adequate staffing and resources, right-sizing based on evidence, operational needs and public expectations, and I might add, this is the minimum investment required in personnel training and community safety again. It’s happening across the province.

Chair of the Board Heather Smith

Board member and Councillor Barbara Enright-Miller said if the budget was reduced:

we wouldn’t comply with mandated requirements. This is a true and transparent document.  We can no longer defer or hide the real costs of policing as our officers deal with more and more calls in this fast-growing community.

Councillor Barbara Enright-Miller

This budget has been scrutinized, challenged and pared down as far as it can go. It is an accurate necessary reflection of what is required to keep the service equipped to protect the residents of Belleville

[the city] is one of the fastest growing cities in Ontario.

with growth brings opportunity, but it also brings increased demand for policing, proactive presence and timely response. We do remain under a state of emergency that alone has underscored the pressures on our community and our police service. It has highlighted how quickly demands can escalate, and how essential it is to have the staffing tools and resources ready at the moment they are needed.

Councillor Barbara Enright-Miller

Police Chief Murray Rodd warned of the consequences if the budget wasn’t approved:

So, this is an investment it’s not a cost

The responsibilities, quite frankly, are non-negotiable, we have zero options, and we go through every conversation with what happens if we don’t do this and the consequences always goes the same way – an officer will be charged, we will be sued, something bad will come out of it.

Safety is expensive because we have to have equipment, training, resources and time to make things safe … and I think that this is addressed in this budget by ensuring that we have the competition and capabilities to meet the needs of this community, our legislative responsibilities and answer any call that comes and we are the destination, the call of last resort

Police Chief Murray Rodd

Mayor Neil Ellis voted for the proposed budget to return to city council, saying he didn’t like the 15 per cent increase but added:

I don’t like the increase and I stated that at the last [board] meeting and we could go on talk about that, but policing is expensive, all communities are seeing that. I think it doesn’t help us with the capping of other municipalities that are rural on that

I’d just like to thank the finance committee and the board for looking at this for council and getting it done in such a quick manner

Mayor Neil Ellis

We have a duty of care and we have to provide safe policing.

Mayor Neil Ellis

Member Jim O’Brien said that under the legislation:

we don’t have a choice. That’s specifically mandated, we have to provide our members with all those pieces of equipment. We are responsible for the provision of adequate and effective policing.

Board member Jim O’Brien