The Hamilton Police Service (HPS) has submitted an updated budget request for the 2026 operating year, lowering its tax levy request slightly to 8.62 per cent, from an original 9.48 per cent. This revised figure remains more than double Mayor Andrea Horwath’s 4.25 per cent “Hold The Line” Budget Directive.
The updated budget proposal does not decrease proposed spending.
The 8.62 per cent request significantly exceeds the estimated 7.5 per cent increase already required to maintain current Police Service operations for 2026, even before the cost of new units and staffing are added.
The marginal reduction in the tax levy request is attributed to decreased projected supply cost pressures from U.S. tariffs and increased forecasted revenues from the Provincial Offences Act and service fees.
The HPS budget increased 10.89 per cent in 2025. Police used reserves built up from past surpluses to reduce the tax levy impact of that increase to 5.7 per cent, effectively deferring much of the full cost to the 2026 tax levy.
The HPS is already forecasting budget increases of 8.93 per cent in 2027, 4.41 per cent in 2028, and 6.35 per cent in 2029.
Police Seeking New Units and Staffing in 2026
Hamilton Chief of Police Frank Bergen is seeking to create a dedicated 26-member domestic violence (DV) unit.
The unit will include four existing sworn members, 21 new officers, and one new civilian member to provide counselling services. The unit is costed at $1-million in 2026, a significant decrease from the $3.6-million cost proposed for a 17-member unit in the 2025 budget.
Details on the difference in estimated DV unit costs are not included in the budget agenda.
During the September 27 Police Services Board meeting, the Downtown Hamilton Core Patrol was made a permanent unit with eight full-time constables at an annual budget cost of $1.01-million. The unit focuses on conducting visible patrols in Business Improvement Areas and on James Street North.
$2.6-million of the budget increase is attributed to the costs of managing body cameras, replacing tasers, and technology modernisation.
$19.6-Million Capital Budget Proposed
Separate from the operating budget request, the HPS is requesting a $19.6-million capital budget for 2026. This is proposed to be funded 29 per cent from the tax levy, 29 per cent from development charge reserves, and 42 per cent from the surplus reserve
Mayor Horwath Resigned from Police Board Before Issuing Budget Directive
Mayor Andrea Horwath resigned her seat on the Police Services Board in late September, just weeks before issuing her “Hold The Line” directive. She cited scheduling pressures as the reason for her departure.
“I have a hard time making the meetings. My schedule is just intense… I cannot find the time to serve on committees, let alone show up to all the board meetings. It’s really been tough for me,” Horwath stated.
Horwath has not commented on the 2026 police budget proposals.
Last year, Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish resigned from Peel’s police board in order to be able to freely vote against police budget increases.
“I had to leave the board because I could not properly represent my constituents and the police at the same time. And my first responsibility is to the residents of the city I serve. There is no mechanism residents can use to hold the police board accountable for their budget decisions,” Parrish wrote.
Ontario’s Community Safety and Policing Act restricts police board members from acting against majority decisions of police boards. This creates a dilemma for elected council members who sit on police boards.
Police Budget Meeting Begins at 1:30 p.m.
The police budget meeting is scheduled to begin today, October 14, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. in Council Chambers at City Hall. The proceedings will be livestreamed on the police board website.
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: October 14, 2025
Last updated: October 14, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version