Promoters of events in the city that need extra policing aren’t the ones paying for it.
A recommendation was brought to Prince George City Council last night to take the burden of responsibility off of taxpayers for the service. Currently, when a special event requires a police presence, the city is footing the bill.
The recommendation is that the administration implements a fee to the promoters of $115 per hour for each RCMP officer attending special events in the city.
According to the report presented to council, ongoing police attendance at special events typically falls outside of the normal staffing duties of the members on a watch. Therefore in most instances, members will need to be brought in on overtime in order to provide coverage for the special event.
Councillor Murry Krause said there will be a whole process behind deciding which events will be charged the extra fee.
“I think it’s the events where it’s the potential for the need of more security than what the promoter might be providing. It certainly isn’t looking at charging non-profit organizations or the standard sort of annual celebrations here in Prince George,” he said.
“It could be, and I’m not saying only, it could be events that have alcohol, maybe events that have a bit of a history of needing more of a police presence.”
Krause thought it would be unfair to name any specific promoters or events as an example, but reiterated that there would be a process that goes into making that decision.
“It really is just taking the responsibility off the citizens of Prince George and putting it back on the promoter to pay that fee.”
According to him, administration is going to come back to council with a bylaw proposal that they will further debate.
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