Hours after Langley City announced it would fight de-integration of the shared City-Township RCMP detachment, the Township announced it was seeking $3 million for policing costs from the City.
According to a Township statement, the outstanding invoice is the cost of Langley City’s share of policing services based on a previously-agreed formula which splits the cost of the local RCMP force between the two communities. It says this money is for policing services during 2023.
“If the City does not pay in full, the Township may be forced to take legal action to recoup the money owed to Township taxpayers, plus interest and costs,” the statement said.
According to the Township, the City is requiring the Township to sign an extension to the expired police services agreement, to cover both 2023 and 2024, before paying.
“The Township has rejected this conditional payment, and views this conduct by the City as negotiating in bad faith,” the Township statement said.
The statement said the Township remains open to negotiating a “short extension” with the City, but not as a condition prior to payment.
“The City of Langley council needs to pay its 2023 bill for policing services rendered to them by Township of Langley taxpayers,” said Township Mayor Eric Woodward in the statement. “The City of Langley is not acting in good faith, in our view. By not paying their fair share, they are attempting to use this as leverage for a revised agreement solely to their benefit.”
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Langley City Mayor Nathan Pachal confirmed that the City has not yet paid what he said was a $2.78 million invoice from the Township that would be part of the previous agreement between City and Township. But he said that the Township will be receiving the funding soon.
There has not been a signed policing agreement between the communities since 2022, Pachal said. The City asked the Township if they would sit down to negotiate an agreement, even a temporary one lasting one or two years, before paying the funding.
The City was likely to send the funds as part of what Pachal called an act of good faith.
“We do hope they come to the table and renew this police service agreement, even if it’s only for another couple of years,” Pachal said.
The Township’s announcement was released shortly after the City released some of the findings of a review by the RCMP’s B.C. headquarters.
Woodward announced a plan to split the local shared RCMP detachment into two not long after his election a year and a half ago. There has long been tension between the City and Township over whether each side was paying its fair share. Woodward has been vocal that the Township is paying too much for the shared service compared to the City.
