Grande Prairie City administrators will present a report to council during their next committee meetings regarding the budget impacts of the ongoing transition from RCMP to GPPS jurisdiction.
During their report, staff conducted an analysis comparing projected RCMP contracted services costs to the expected GPPS costs. According to the administration, it is anticipated that GPPS will be less than RCMP services if the RCMP’s contract remains in place.
This is due to several reasons, including the city’s required payments for costs associated with the RCMP contract. Under their current contract, the city is required to pay a share of divisional administrative costs such as cadet training, legal services, recruitment, and others.
City staff maintain that these represent a “significant” cost to the city annually, ranging upwards of $5.5 million every year.
Despite the anticipated savings, staffers say the city will see some administrative costs similar to the RCMP’s contract; however, officials suggest they are expected to be “significantly less.”
The GPPS takeover remains on track according to the city’s most recent reports, and it is expected the new municipal agency will become the police of jurisdiction in 2026, with the full transition expected to be finalized by 2028. As a result, city staff suggests in 2028, the city is expected to be below what the RCMP budget would have been.
