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The $500-million problem, part one It's been over six months since the provincial government announced it would be saddling the province's municipalities with $500-million worth of budget cuts. And while negotiations keep starting up and breaking down, and while municipalities bicker amongst themselves over who should pick up the lion's share of the tab, all sorts of municipal services are left in limbo. >> Perhaps most crucial of all, the $500-million problem has now put the MUC's community policing plan on hold. The MUC's Public Security Commission was supposed to meet last week to discuss the police budget for the coming year, but the meeting was abruptly cancelled. The reason: the cops have no budget to submit to the Commission, because no one knows how much money is in the bank. >> The police have always said they need an extra 200 officers to make the plan work--which means that, as it stands, they need an extra $8.5 million. But according to city councillor Marvin Rotrand, "the municipalities won't commit an extra cent to the MUC until they know the outcome of the $500-million negotiations." --Philip Preville
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