Chief Dan Rivett says a three percent wage increase for full-time officers, along with benefits are the biggest factor behind the four percent increase.
Rivett says wages make up 85 percent of the police budget.
He says some of those costs for officers are offset by provincial grants.
The budget for by-law enforcement is also up. Rivett says based on surveys, stronger by-law enforcement is what residents of Saugeen Shores want.
75 thousand dollars could be set aside for a future expansion to the front of the police station.
Rivett says they want to be prepared for when the time comes to build the addition, which is estimated to cost four to 500 hundred thousand dollars.
He says the expansion is needed because the existing facility is getting cramped.
The police station expansion is unlikely to happen for another three or four years.
