CALGARY — Alberta police forces say they want the province to remove a new ticket surcharge that will drain cash from their budgets.
Municipalities didn’t have to pay in the past when a parking authority or police officer checked a licence plate or driver’s licence.
But last Friday, Service Alberta started charging a $15 fee for every check, saying the system was getting too expensive to run.
Calgary Police Chief Rick Hanson, who is also president of the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police, says the surcharge will cost his department $4 million and the tab provincewide will be $21 million.
Hanson says there was no consultation and the money will have to come out of police budgets.
He says he’s hopeful a meeting with the province in a couple of weeks will come up with a solution.