City Can’t Produce Total New Security Gate Costs

© Copyright The Bulldog

The City of Ottawa doesn’t know how much its controversial new security system will cost.

The system, that consists of scanning equipment, metal detectors, turnstiles and x-ray machines, has drawn public ire because a number of government services are available inside the secure zone and the main floor of Ottawa City Hall was designed to be “a people place.”

And while the city was able to provide the capital costs of the security system after an inquiry by The Bulldog, it was unable to produce the operational costs of the project. Quite often operational costs are the most expensive part of any project due to the hiring of personnel, their benefits and, most of all, their salaries.

“The city will be assessing, over the course of the next year, any ongoing, incremental costs associated with security personnel,” said an emailed statement attributed to Ryan Perrault, the general manager of the emergency and protective services department, by the city media relations department in response to inquiries from The Bulldog.

The cost of equipment for security at the Lisgar and Laurier entrances is estimated by the city to be about $350,000.

This is divided into:

• security screening equipment, x-ray, metal detectors: $92,000;
• turnstiles at the Lisgar and Elgin entries at $204,000 and at the Lisgar stairs at $54,000.

City staff had said in 2020 that the current security gates at the city council chamber entrance would cost about $150,000. That means that at least a half-million dollars has been spent on city hall security stations since 2019 not including the cost of personnel and related expenses.

Both new security installations would be operating five days a week and only one would be open on weekends. But that means staffing for those entrances and the city says the “incremental” costs will be discovered during the year. So the city, at present, doesn’t know or isn’t revealing what those staffing costs are and they are not included in the system’s estimates.

The new security system has been criticized by many members of the public for making municipal democracy less accessible for the public.

Ken Gray

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