The Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) is poised to enter this year’s budget season looking for a budget increase of 14.8 per cent, on the heels of an 11.11 per cent increase in 2026.
The police budget was by far the largest line item that drove up property taxes for Niagara Region residents in 2026, and 2027 would be no exception.
At a police board meeting late last week, Chief Bill Fordy argued that a nine per cent increase will be required in 2027 just to keep services as-is, largely due to wage increases that are expected to be agreed to via the collective bargaining process.
“The base budget forecast this year is in a large part the annualization of program changes that were implemented last year,” said Fordy. “It also includes provision for the anticipated collective agreement that expires at the end of this year and will be renewed next year. The forecast includes a wage provision that is in keeping with other collective agreements that have been realized in the police universe in Ontario.”
Fordy also pointed to increased costs related to information technology (IT) needs as a driver of the overall budget increase.
Finance and asset management director Laura Rullo built on Fordy’s comments, noting that some of the program changes were implemented in a staggered fashion in 2026 to try to reduce the police budget for that year are driving the need for an increased budget next year. According to Rullo, 2.7 per cent of the nine per cent budget increase needed to maintain status quo policing comes from implementing policies that were introduced on a staggered basis this year.
Roughly four per cent of the anticipated increase, according to Rullo, is due to the anticipated wage increases that will be agreed to via the collective bargaining process.
Rullo noted that the staggered program changes and wage increases already takes the NRP to a 6.7 per cent required budget increase. The rest of the nine per cent, according to Rullo, is tied to things like enhanced benefits, as well as inflation on supplies, increases to IT costs, and reduced court security grants and OLG funding.
Vice Chair and Regional Councillor (Welland) Pat Chiocchio expressed optimism that the overall figure could come down, insisting that it will be important to look at every item in a line-by-line fashion.
“I’m still hoping that we can reduce that number even less…we’ve got to work hard at bringing that down,” said Chiocchio.
Jay Goldberg is the Canadian Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center. He previously served as the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and 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.
