In 2022, when Chief Derek Davis was sworn in, the Sarnia Police Service operated with a budget of $27.36 million. Three years later, that figure is set to hit $36.7 million. That’s $9.3 million spent in just three years, imagine what other city departments could have done with $9.3 million?
It sounds unbelievable, but the numbers are real.
The Budget Growth
| Year | Budget (Operating) | Year-over-Year Increase |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $27.36 million | (4.7%) |
| 2023 | $30.4 million | +$3.04 million (11.5%) |
| 2024 | $33.4 million | +$3.0 million (9.9%) |
| 2025 | $36.7 million | +$3.3 million (proposed) |
If you include capital and reserve requests, the total police financial footprint is even larger. Over these same years, requests have included money for a new K9 unit, radio upgrades, more cruisers, an expanded communications team, new supervisory staff, and now: $500,000 just to begin designing a brand new police headquarters — the first step toward a $60 million facility.
What’s Driving the Cost?
According to budget documents, 92% of the Sarnia Police budget in 2024 went to salaries and benefits. This includes newly created roles like a crime analyst, corporate communications officer, more dispatchers and four additional sergeants.
The 2025 proposal includes eight more officer hires and funding to begin the new HQ project. The rest of the increases cover ongoing technology upgrades, aging fleet replacement, night vision goggles, dogs and a funding reserve for the chief's building project. None of which have anything to do with solving the root causes of crime.
What hasn’t shown up in these budget documents? Dedicated funding for mental health support. Despite Chief Davis highlighting mental health calls as a growing demand, there are no clear line items in any year for the MHEART team, IMPACT partnership, or other crisis response investments. Mental health response, it turns out, is a priority in press conferences, not in line items.
Rec Centre vs. Fortress
Contrast this with the Bluewater Active Connected Community Complex a beautiful proposal built by community members, endorsed by the city’s own consultants, aligned with long-term recreation plans, and already backed by private fundraising.
The request? Just $100,000 in seed funding, which thank God has now been approved, to finish studies and unlock provincial dollars.
For over a decade, local groups like Sarnia FC and the Bluewater Cycling Organization have organized for a facility to serve young athletes, older adults, newcomers, and everyone in between. Their dream is modest by comparison: no granite counters or glass towers. Just a functional, shared space where people can gather, train, and stay active through our long winters and all summer long.
They now have a small grant to work with, while the police already have $9 million more per year to spend. The same amount could have built an entire community centre by now. So we have to ask: why did we choose to give that money to the chief, knowing how he spends it?
Meanwhile, the police have already secured $300,000 for radio upgrades, $350,000 for vehicle equipment, and $500,000 just for architectural services for a new building. All approved or proposed within a single year.
What Kind of City Are We Becoming?
The message this sends is devastatingly clear: if you want to build something that brings people together — a gym, a pool, a community hub — you’ll have to organize, fundraise, and wait. But if you want more officers, more gear, and a $60 million headquarters, you’ll get line items and council approvals before the community even gets a shovel in the ground or knows it's happening. That’s the kind of system we’ve built; one where containment gets a fast-track, and care gets red tape.
We’ve been told there’s not enough money for everything yet somehow there’s always money for more police. Always money for empire-building. Always money for surveillance and presence, even when that presence isn’t matched with care or results.
This is not about safety. It’s about priorities. And right now, those priorities are broken.
Sarnia needs a reset — not just of budgets, but of imagination. Because if we believe safety comes from connection, recreation, and community health, then we cannot keep doubling down on containment.
We can choose something else. But first, we have to say no.
No to another year of budget bloat. No to $60 million bunkers. No to the lie that police are our only hope for making Sarnia better.
It’s time to stop the bleeding and start investing in the kind of city our kids, and grandkids, won’t want to leave.