Fordy is pitching a 15.1 per cent police budget increase for 2025. Pictured: Niagara Regional Police Chief Bill Fordy. Photo Credit: NRPS.
Niagara Regional Police Service Chief Bill Fordy is pitching a massive operating budget increase for 2025, seeking a jump in funding of over 15 per cent.
The dollar value of Fordy’s requested budget increase for next year is $28.5 million, which would bring NRPS’s overall operating budget to just shy of $217 million.
This is Fordy’s first budget as police chief. Fordy took over as police chief earlier this year.
The budget was presented to the police services board last week.
Fordy will have to win over the support of regional councillors, as the budget increase he’s pitching significantly more than in recent years and would likely drive Niagara Region’s 2025 property tax increase higher.
According to Fordy’s budget, there are many needs that have been left unmet in recent years. Continuing with the status quo would require a nine per cent budget increase, while adding extra members to the NRPS workforce makes up the additional six per cent increase.
Part of the reason the status quo requires such a significant budget increase includes price pressures in excess of inflation, such as a rise in the cost of fuel (5.3 per cent), software licensing (5.0 per cent), statutory deductions (7.2 per cent), group benefits (12.8 per cent) and police wages (3.5 per cent).
Fordy is hoping to hire 64 new employees. This includes a third deputy chief, eight more domestic violence unit officers, six more training unit officers, two more inspectors, two more canine unit officers, an emergency services superintendent, 33 more front-line officers, and additional administrative staff.
Fordy told the police services board that he feels the police need even more resources, but he didn’t want to increase his funding request further because of the Region’s budget pressures and burdens currently facing taxpayers.
“There are things that I wanted to bring forward as part of this budget that are not being presented today,” said Fordy.
Board Chair Jen Lawson appeared to be supportive of Fordy’s funding increase requests, while other board members questioned if some additional hiring could be deferred.
Lawson feels that the NRPS should have roughly 900 officers to handle the tasks it currently must carry out, but only has roughly 700 right now. She sees the new hiring requests as quite reasonable.
“I’m concerned about our members who are working nine straight weeks of nights,” Lawson said.
Fordy is also pitching a police budget increase of 9.1 per cent for 2026 and 7.6 per cent for 2027.
Fordy will present his budget plan to Niagara Regional Council on Nov. 14.
Council will approve the final police budget (which is ultimately up to council to determine) on Dec. 12.
Jay Goldberg is the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. He previously served as a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
