Former Vancouver Police Board member questions budget approval process for $5M crackdown on DTES crime

A former Vancouver Police Board member is questioning how a pricey initiative targeting criminal activity in the Downtown Eastside was approved.

A former Vancouver Police Board member is questioning what role the board played in how the budget for an initiative targeting crime on the Downtown Eastside was approved.

Faye Wightman served as a member on the board for about three years before resigning last January, citing political interference from the mayor’s office.

Wightman isn’t convinced things have changed since she left, raising questions about an apparent lack of board approval for the $5 million in funding for Task Force Barrage, to cover overtime costs for police.

Mayor Ken Sim announced the initiative in February, months after the city’s budget was finalized.

Wightman believes the additional cost should have been sent to the police board first to sign off on.

“It’s certainly not following due process, and it’s certainly not following good governance,” she said.

“When you’re talking about a $5 million change to a budget, that’s not an operational decision – that’s a strategic decision, it’s a financial decision, and it’s the board’s decision to make.”

‘Autonomous, nonpolitical’

Wightman said the process approving an initiative such as Task Force Barrage typically involves city council sending a request to the police board, which would then discuss the financial implications.

From there, she said, if board members agreed they were wiling to adjust the budget, they would then give approval to the Vancouver Police Department.

The former board vice-chair said she’d like to see the organization take a firmer stance on these issues.

“I believe that there is a real benefit in having an autonomous, nonpolitical board overseeing the VPD, but I think they need to make sure that they know what their job is, and to do it,” she said.

Board response

Since February, CTV News has repeatedly asked the police board to provide documentation, such as meeting minutes or agendas, that show the mayor or council proposing Task Force Barrage, or the board approving it.

The board has been unable to provide an answer, pointing to generic board minutes instead.

CTV News contacted the board again Thursday for an interview but did not receive a response.

At a police board meeting on April 24, Coun. Pete Fry questioned a report that described Task Force Barrage, with its $5 million budget, as a “joint initiative by Vancouver police and the council.”

Fry said the funding had not gone through city council, adding that if it had, it would have occurred through an open meeting, or included all of council in a closed meeting.

“I was a little alarmed to see that report in there, identifying that council had approved a $5 million overtime expenditure” he said.

Former police chief weighs in

Asked about Fry’s concerns, former Vancouver police chief Adam Palmer said it was on the city to figure out the budget.

“All I know is that from the police department, they’re giving us $5 million,” he said.“How they do it, they have to work out their own, you know, machinations about that. That’s not us doing that.”

In a statement to CTV News, the mayor’s office said, “the estimated cost of the Task Force is approximately $5 million. As with other exceptional expenditures, we expect a formal funding request, along with overtime or protest-related operational costs, to come before council for review and debate, in line with our commitment to transparency and accountability.”