Olivia Chow supports a full funding increase for Toronto Police in the budget

Mayor Olivia Chow said she supports a proposal to give Toronto police the full funding increase expected this year, after her originally proposed budget cut the increase by $12.1 million.

The Toronto Police Services Board approved a budget in December that calls for a $20 million (1.7 per cent) increase in the police budget this year.

Chow's proposed city budget a few weeks ago still included a police increase, but cut it to about $8 million.

The move prompted a strong public campaign by Toronto police and the police union, the Toronto Police Association, to reverse the move, both of which warned it would affect service levels.

On Tuesday afternoon, a day before the budget goes before council, Chow said he has had “a lot of forward-looking conversations” with other levels of government over the past few weeks about the cost of police services in Toronto.

“These conversations are ongoing and very promising,” Chow said in a statement. “This allows me to support the motion to recommend an additional allocation to the Toronto Police Service budget that is consistent with the Toronto Police Services Board's request.”

Chow told CTV News Toronto that it's unclear exactly how much the city will receive from other levels of government, but the additional funds for police will come from the city's tax stabilization reserve.

He reiterated that thanks to indirect funding and money set aside for salary negotiations, the police are close to $60 million this year.

Chief Myron Demkiw Chow said budget cuts threaten the force's ability to properly respond to service levels and create staffing shortages down the road. The Toronto Police Association also released a series of eye-catching radio and online ads highlighting the average response time to priority calls of 22 minutes.

Chow said Tuesday that pressure from the two groups did not affect his decision.

“What worries me is the lack of the $1.8 billion I inherited. I have to fix it,” Chow said. “Fixing the financial mess has been my top priority. My second priority is revitalizing the city and investing in affordable housing, public transportation, pothole repair, and better youth programs.”

He said he was “very upfront” that the city faces unique challenges and needs to find more money to pay for its needs.

“We have 100 consulates in Toronto, we have big events like Pride Toronto, Carabana, Honda Indie. So we have a lot of challenges, and the federal government and the provincial government are saying, “Yes, we understand that and we support you,'' Chow said. “So it's only recently that we can have a very promising dialogue.”

Chow said he and Chief Demkiw “mutually recognized” and discussed the need to reduce response times, develop a staffing plan and seek funding from other levels of government.

Demkiw said in a statement that if the council approves the funding request, TPS can move forward with its mandate.

“Mayor Chow and I will stay connected and we share a commitment to keeping Torontonians safe,” Demkiw said in a statement. “If our budget request is approved by full Council tomorrow, the Toronto Police Service will be able to move forward with addressing emergency response times, hiring and training more police officers for deployment, and we will continue our multi-year hiring plan to help. we will run our growing city in an efficient and effective manner.”

TPA President John Reid echoed that sentiment.

“We are pleased to hear this update from the mayor and we look forward to the outcome of tomorrow's final meeting on the city budget,” he said in a separate statement. “The TPA will provide a detailed explanation at that time.”

A number of councilors said they would challenge the budget allocation for police.

Chow has previously said he will not use his powerful mayoral powers to waste the budget and will seek consensus from the council.

With files from CTV Toronto's Mike Walker