MELFORT 鈥� Melfort council has agreed to cover the funds for $10,000-a-piece portable ballistics shields for the city鈥檚 RCMP detachment.
This comes with the RCMP division鈥檚 multi-year plan, which was presented and passed by council during their meeting on June 14.
Municipalities within the division鈥檚 coverage area are being approached to cover the pooled cost share for the equipment expenditures. Each municipality will be billed as equipment is deployed to their municipal detachment.
Other items the division is requesting include replacement of expired hard body armour, which costs $585 a piece; and licenses to use Android Team Awareness Kits (ATAK) smartphone app, which costs $167 a piece.聽
According to F Division media relations, planning is currently underway to provide detachments across the province with the ballistics shields starting in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
When asked for comment on the funding request, Glenn George, Melfort鈥檚 mayor, said the police service needed it, so that鈥檚 why they were funding it.
鈥淲e definitely don鈥檛 want to pay that amount, but that鈥檚 what it costs. It鈥檚 one of those decisions that, 鈥楧o we want policing, or not?鈥� Yes, we want policing, this is what it costs.鈥�
The yearly estimates of the pooled costs and location specific costs for the City of Melfort for the 2021/22 year sets at $957,313 excluding retro pay, and $1,217,321 including retro pay and pay raise.
