Despite receiving a record budget increase last fall, Barrie Police Service is once again projecting it will finish the year in the red.
It's projecting an operating deficit for 2026 of $1,277,471, according to its first-quarter financial update, with rising staffing costs, reduced provincial funding, and long-term technology investments contributing to the shortfall.
The projection, discussed during Thursday's board meeting, represents about 1.7 per cent of the service’s approved annual operating budget and comes as police navigate higher-than-expected staffing demands and changes in provincial grant funding.
The projected shortfall follows an overall deficit of $975,287 in 2025, or 1.4 per cent of the annual budget. When the year-end budget variance report was presented to the board in March, much of the additional spending was attributed to overtime costs that came in more than 20 per cent over budget due to “major occurrences and complex investigations.”
“It is very difficult for us to deliver on our obligation to the service to ensure that you have a service with the right staffing, the right equipment, and the right resources,” board member Arif Khan said.
Despite that shortfall, the City of Barrie approved an 8.53 per cent increase to the police budget for 2026, bringing it to $78.4 million—the largest budget increase in the service’s history.
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The largest contributor to the projected deficit remains personnel-related costs.
The report shows increased use of part-time and contract staff to respond to growing service demands, alongside more retirements than anticipated and members off on WSIB leave.
As of Mar. 31, salary and benefit costs totalled $15.7 million, or 21.3 per cent of the annual budget. The service noted that ongoing staffing transitions are also contributing to budget pressures.
“We’re about to find ourselves behind the eight ball again from a staffing perspective regarding the fact that we have continued to struggle with funding, but we are seeing continued growth, certainly with the boundary expansion and population expansion,” Khan said.
Like in 2025, overtime spending continues to trend upward, accounting for 19.1 per cent of the annual budget year-to-date, largely tied to operational demand and call volume.
However, police noted overtime spending is expected to remain lower than 2025 levels and said non-essential overtime is not permitted.
Operating expenditures are also expected to exceed budget, driven in part by an investment in records management software integration.
The project is intended to connect internal systems used by the service, improving efficiency for both administrative staff and frontline officers. While it increases short-term spending, the upgrade is expected to generate cost savings beginning in 2028.
The service also noted it received less software-related grant funding than anticipated, adding further pressure to the operating budget.
Meanwhile, provincial funding for the Court Security and Prisoner Transportation (CSPT) program came in approximately $159,000 lower than expected, making revenue another key factor in the projected deficit.
“We were expecting a big decrease this year,” finance manager Tyrell Turner said. “It turned out to be even higher than we were expecting.”
The CSPT program supports courthouse security and prisoner transport operations, which cost more than $5.1 million in 2025 alone.
The province has also discontinued the Preventing Auto Theft (PAT) grant, which is expected to reduce revenue by roughly $300,000.
However, Turner said there is still optimism the service could receive funding through the Community Safety and Policing (CSP) and Bail Compliance and Warrant Apprehension (BCWA) grants.
Not all indicators were negative. Year-to-date revenue sits at 20 per cent of budget, driven mainly by increased secondment activity, including members assigned to the Ontario Police College.
Despite the projected deficit, the service said spending remains broadly in line with first-quarter expectations, with net expenditures sitting at 20.6 per cent of the annual budget.
Finance staff say they will continue monitoring financial performance throughout 2026 and report back to the board as conditions evolve.
