New contracts get the blame
Kingston Police are asking for a $54-million budget for 2025, a 13.74 per cent increase from last year. The $6.5-million hike is mainly due to new collective agreements raising wages and benefits, a report says.
The agreements include retroactive pay for 2023 and 2024, pushing costs higher than expected. Salaries and benefits make up 86.2 per cent of the total budget, with higher specialty pay and payroll benefits driving the rise.
About 3.84 per cent of the increase will fund long-term absence coverage, downtown patrols, and new rules under Ontario’s Community Safety and Policing Act.
Police forecast further budget increases of 8.4 per cent in 2026, 4.13 per cent in 2027, and 3.45 per cent in 2028.
The report notes Kingston is not alone. Other areas served by the Ontario Provincial Police are seeing similar cost jumps as collective agreements reshape police funding across the province.
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