Thread by @ProgressAlberta

Edmonton city council is currently debating the police funding formula. Stay tuned to this thread for updates. Councillors are currently asking questions of administration. Police commissioner Ashvin Singh is in attendance. #yegcc

Commissioner Singh is currently making the case for why Edmonton Police need their guaranteed funding increases no matter what. Argues that moving from a guaranteed funding formula to not having a guaranteed funding formula could throw the police and their budgeting into disarray

Councillor Rutherford brings up the notion of trust between council and the police commission with respect to a four year budget commitment.

Commissioner Singh argues that the police are different from other city departments due to the Police Act. Presumably this is why they need guaranteed year over year budget increases no matter what happens.

Multiple councillors and the mayor have mentioned $407 million number as a baseline instead of the $385 million from Rutherford's motion. Look out for Tim Cartmell put that amendment forward.

Councillor Cartmell has introduced an amendment to Councillor Rutherford's motion to increase the baseline police budget to $407 million from $385 million.

Councillor Stevenson supports the amendment.

Councillor Hamilton is bringing up a hypothetical situation involving a time machine and a police funding formula. Hard to track what her point there was.

Councillor Rutherford is making an amendment to the amendment! It's to do with striking down a portion of the amendment language around traffic funding.

The amendment to the amendment has been withdrawn. Unfortunately we won't be getting an amendment to the amendment to the amendment.

Councillor Cartmell's amendment to increase the baseline police budget from $385 to $407 million has been passed 12-1 with only Councillor Janz opposed. Debate continues on Rutherfords's amended motion.

With this increase to the baseline police budget proposed by Cartmell that's been accepted maybe council will make a decision on this today? A 15 minute break is coming up right away.

Bizarre exchange between Councillor Stevenson and Courbold. He brings up a bizarre scenario where the police budget might have to increase if there was another 9/11. Then says that value provided by a funding formula is that then you don't talk so much about police funding.

Councillor Rutherford will be voting no to the second part of her own motion that calls for the police budget to go through the same budget process as other city departments. Is now a believer in a police funding formula.

It seems that increasingly unlikely that we will be getting out of here with a resolution to the police funding formula debate.

Councillor Salvador will be supporting the motion.

Sounds like Councillor Knack will be voting against the part of the motion that treats the police budget process like every other city department. Also saying he doesn't want the status quo funding formula to continue.

Councillor Wright will be supporting both parts of the motion.

Councillor Hamilton, who is also on the police commission give an emotional speech. Not clear how she will be voting. Councillor Rice will be voting against the second part of the motion that treats police budgets like every other city department.

What's not clear is what happens if this motion is defeated. Or defeated in part. Do they start from scratch on the police funding formula debate? The day is almost over.

Mayor Sohi will be voting for both parts of the motion.

Edmonton city council has voted in favour of the part of the motion to have $407 million as the base police budget and against the part of the motion to treat the EPS budget like every other department. What happens next 🤷‍♂️

A subsequent motion, put forward by Councillor Rice, is to give the Edmonton Police a shiny new funding formula.

Councillor Knack won't be supporting the motion. Wants to pull together a funding formula for community safety and well-being, not just police. Councillor Paquette does support the funding formula for some reason despite echoing Knack's sentiments.

Councillor Rutherford will be supporting the motion for a police funding formula. After voting against her own amendment she's now supportive of the police funding formula arrangement. A deal that literally exists in any other Canadian city and for any other police force.

Councillor Rutherford doesn't want the conversation to stop on police funding after they pass the formula. Which is strange to say considering the whole point of the formula is to spend less time talking about police funding.

Literally does not exist

Council has voted to develop a revised police funding formula. 11-2. Wow. Chief McFee got exactly what he wanted and played Edmonton city council like a fiddle.