Vanderhoof Mayor Gerry Thiessen says he’s looking into how cuts to the RCMP’s budget in B.C. will affect local service.
Thiessen said Thursday that he met with BC Liberal Party leader Andrew Wilkinson that morning, as Wilkinson tours northwestern B.C., and was told the Mounties will be making cuts.
“I am going to do my homework here later today and tomorrow and see what relevance it has to Vanderhoof,” he said.
Sgt. Rodney Guthrie of the Vanderhoof RCMP said the cuts will not make a big difference locally.
“We have the extra RCMP members that were given to us last year and they are not going anywhere,” he said, adding that money will get spent no matter what on operations costs related to safety.
“It could just affect some of the extra stuff we do,” he said.
Overtime and the purchase of new equipment could be reduced, he added, but not salaries or the number of officers.
READ MORE: Province working with RCMP to address the force’s B.C. budget cuts
Aman Parhar
Editor, Vanderhoof Omineca Express
aman.parhar@ominecaexpress.com
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