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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, D ec em be r 12 ,2 01 9 | 4 DANCE S MILE DA NCE LEA RN DANC E CONNE CT DANC E ENJOY DANCE IN SPIRE DA NCE ACh IEvE DAN CE LIvE D ANCE LO vE million increase, the bud- get's largest area of in- crease is to staffing in the same amount. Contract-related com- pensation would cost $3.3 million in 2020 while new hires will account for $2.1 million, adding 19 sworn police officers and five ci- vilian staff, for a total of 737 sworn in officers and 307.5 staff in 2020. Increases in benefit costs would ac- count for the remaining $1.2 million. The increase in budget also came from a number of pressures according HRPS Chief, Stephen Tan- ner. One of those pressures is Maplehurst Correction- al Facility. Tanner told council three officers were as- signed full-time at the pris- on and received $400,000 from the province annual- ly. "The Minister of Com- munity Safety and Correc- tional Services, Sylvia Jones, arbitrarily decided to end that relationship and funding effective Dec. 31," Tanner said, adding that the region would be re- sponsible for the funding. "I estimate we spent $1.4 million or $1.5 million per year doing police work at Maplehurst," Tanner said. The correctional facility is responsible for roughly one-third of assault occur- rences in Halton Region, the police also handle sui- cides, assaults, attempted murders and manslaugh- ter charges at the prison. "Those investigations are massive," Tanner said. "And for $400,000, that's great value." The police budget will be considered at the Dec. 11 regional council meeting. COUNCIL Continued from page 3 INCREASE IN BUDGET DUE TO A NUMBER OF PRESSURES THE ISSUE: HALTON'S POLICE BUDGET LOCAL IMPACT: DOWNLOADING FROM THE PROVINCE MEANS REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS ARE ON THE HOOK FOR POLICE SERVICES ONCE PAID FOR BY THE ONTARIO GOVERNMENT STORY BEHIND THE STORY While regional council has been finalizing the 2020 budget for Halton Region, Halton Regional Police Service has had to ask above their target budget to account for provincial downloading and growth. in a silver-coloured Acura RL. The stolen property is valued at $20,610. The first suspect is de- scribed as white, approxi- mately six feet and 190 pounds. He wore a black- coloured jacket with a black sweater underneath, blue jeans, black shoes and a black-coloured tuque. He carried a black duffel bag with a yellow strip on the side. The second individual is described as white, six feet Halton police are looking for two men follow- ing the theft of more than $20,000 worth of sunglasses from an Oakville Place mall business on Monday, Nov. 25. At around 11:30 a.m., two suspects attended the Sun- glass Hut, located inside the Hudson's Bay. Police allege that the in- dividuals selected 59 pairs of sunglasses, placed them in duffel bags they were carrying and then left without paying. The indi- viduals made their escape and 185 pounds, with facial hair. He wore a black-col- oured jacket with a grey hoodie underneath, black pants, dark brown shoes, dark sunglasses, a black tuque and an orange con- struction vest with a yel- low reflective stripe. He carried a duffel bag. Anyone with informa- tion about these incidents is asked to contact Halton police at 905-825-4747, ext. 2281 or Crime Stoppers at 1- 800-222-TIPS (8477). NEWS 2 MEN SOUGHT AFTER $20,000 WORTH OF SUNGLASSES STOLEN Suspect photos. Halton police photos DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com