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MERRITT HERALD TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
FREE SONG AND DANCE Uganda’s Watoto Children’s Choir performed a fundraising concert to a full house at the Crossroads Community Church on Feb. 4. The audience was treated to energetic evangelical songs with choreography combining aspects of traditional dances with modern moves. The Watoto Children’s Choir is comprised of children orphaned by war or AIDS. The Watoto charity includes a village to house the children, counselling, and educational and vocational training. During breaks in the performance, the choir members shared their stories with the audience. The Merritt stop was one on the choir’s third week of its six-month crossCanada Oh, What Love tour. Emily Wessel/Herald
City looking at ways to reduce police costs By Michael Potestio THE HERALD
reporter@merrittherald.com
The City of Merritt is looking at ways to reduce its policing budget, which is one of the city’s biggest line items each year. As a city with a population under 15,000, Merritt pays 70 per cent of its police costs. The federal government covers the remaining 30 per cent. Merritt Youth & Family Resources Society
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City of Merritt financial services manager Ken Ostraat told city council at its budget meeting on Jan. 28 that policing costs total $2,557,390 for 2015. This budget has hovered near the $2.5 million mark for the past few years. Ostraat said that although the city has little authority to change policing costs, there are some ways they can go about lowering them.
Nearly $100,000 a year could be saved after purchasing the police detachment from the federal government, he said. The city pays rent to the federal government for the police station building at an annual charge of approximately $96,000. The city is also responsible for half of the building’s maintenance costs, which brings that number
to approximately $187,000 per year. Ostraat told council the debt servicing they’d pay to purchase the building would be cheaper than renting. Even if the building was purchased at its full appraised value of $1.2 million, the city could take out a 20-year loan from the Municipal Finance Authority and pay about $80,000 per year, thus saving $16,000
annually. “At some point, that loan would be paid off and then we’re done,” Ostraat said. He said Public Works Canada is open to selling the building to the city and the two parties are currently working out the details. If the city owned the building, it could also look for savings in maintenance costs as well, Ostraat said. In the event the city buys
the police station, the provincial and federal governments would still pay for half of the maintenance costs, he said. Ostraat hopes to bring a report to council on this acquisition in March. Merritt is among a handful of municipalities in B.C. negotiating the acquisition of their police buildings.
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