Calgary police firearms facility and emergency funding dominate budget talks – Calgary

Calgary city council is exploring a budget balancing act when it comes to the Calgary Police Service's need for a new firearms training facility, and how the agency plans to pay for it.

Police Chief Mark Neufeld and Calgary Police Commission Chairman Shawn Cornett answered questions from city councilors Tuesday afternoon on their second day of deliberation on the 2025 budget.

In its contribution to this year's budget, the Calgary Police Commission plans to use $13 million in unallocated Community Safety Investment Framework (CSIF) funds to cover cost overruns on a new firearms training facility.

Started in 2020, CSIF works with community organizations to improve support and response for Calgarians in crisis and prevent police interactions.

CPS puts $8 million annually into the CSIF program, which is matched by the City of Calgary.

“At the end of the day, this is not about training versus community,” Neufeld told reporters. “Not training our officers is not an option.”

Early estimates suggested the new range of firearms would cost $10 million, but the cost is now expected to reach $23 million.

Cornett said using the unallocated CSIF funding became the last remaining option after months of searching for other funding sources in the budget that would not impact service delivery.

“We worked very hard in making this decision, it was not taken lightly,” Cornett said.

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The use of CSIF money to pay for the firearms facility has raised concerns among Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott, who introduced a motion to discuss the move during budget deliberations last month.

Walcott said he does not disagree with the need to train officers, but wants to see other funding sources used so that the CSIF funds can be used for its original intent.

“This discussion is not one of disagreement, it is a values-based decision where the money comes from?” Walcott said.

“The values-based decision made here is that CSIF funding, direct funding to the community, is less important than the firing range; I just strongly disagree.”

However, Neufeld said the current firearms training facility is aging and creating bottlenecks in training and recruitment.

According to Neufeld, there are four-hour limits for officers at the facility due to high levels of lead and noise.

“The top priority must be to keep officers on the job,” Neufeld said. “If we can't get officers to people in times of need, nothing else matters.”

Neufeld said the police department remains committed to CSIF and will find organizations for the unallocated funds if the council can find other options for the training facility.

Calgary Fire Department

This year's budget adjustment includes a $6.6 million increase to the Calgary Fire Department budget, split into $4.7 million allocated in 2025 and the remaining $1.9 million in 2026.

The funding is intended to expand the staffing of the two remaining air trucks with a four-person crew, which has been an ongoing effort in recent years.

It follows a 2022 request to make permanent a $10 million investment in one-time funding to expand its workforce, with the $6.6 million representing the remainder of that request.

Calgary Fire Chief Steve Dongworth told council that 90 per cent of the time, firefighters struggle to muster an effective response force within 11 minutes of a serious or escalating fire.

This response force consists of two fire engines, one air truck and at least twelve firefighters in the event of a serious fire.

Dongworth said such a response takes nearly 14 minutes due to staffing levels, community growth and increased demand for services.

“It is important to us and I believe we will see significant improvements in assembling a first alert or effective response force for both public safety and firefighter safety by expanding the entire air fleet to four members,” said Dongworth.

The funding will also go toward hiring a new Community Safety Officer position to provide fire safety education in “communities experiencing vulnerabilities,” as well as support for frontline services such as training, hazmat and health and safety.

The City Council will also consider increased funding for 19 new 911 centers.

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