Municipalities across BC are concerned over the impact a new RCMP wage bump will have on their budgets.
RCMP negotiated their first ever collective bargaining agreement earlier this year, and the time to enact the changes is running up.
As part of that agreement, the new wage scale must be introduced by November 4th, and retroactive payouts must come in no more than 270 days from then.
Under the new agreement, Constables will see a pay jump of nearly 20 thousand, and staff sergeants could see up to 26 thousand dollars more.
Municipalities with populations under 15 thousand must pay 70 percent of RCMP costs, while those with more pay 90 percent.
The Federal government covers the remainder in both cases.
Municipalities from across the country are now asking Ottawa to step up and fork over the cash to cover at least the retroactive payments.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities argues that they will need to make incredibly tough decisions to limit other essential services to afford the hike.
