Without discussion or debate, Toronto police say they have done their part to find $5 million in cuts to help balance the city’s budget.

In a report to the Toronto Police Services Board on Thursday, Chief Bill Blair said police officials had identified the total funds requested by Mayor John Tory for slashing by the city’s budget committee.

Though Blair had pushed back in previous years against demands by the Rob Ford administration and the board to find further “efficiencies” in the growing police budget — the single biggest item in the city’s budget, with current proposed operating costs of $925.7 million — there was no fuss from the chief this week.

“We all have a responsibility to do our part,” said Blair, who will be leaving when his contract expires in April. “We remain committed and have remained committed for many years in finding as many efficiencies, and providing policing in the most economical and efficient way possible. We’ve been working very hard on that, and I think we’ve made some tremendous progress.”

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Tory, who sits on the police board, said he was pleased to have the help of city agencies in plugging an $86-million hole in the budget. The city has also asked the TTC to find $4 million in cuts.

“I felt confident throughout the process that I had the co-operation of the major agencies,” Tory said.

The budget committee forwarded a list of suggested cuts to police, the biggest of which comes from $1.5 million saved because of lower fuel costs.

“We’re fortunate in that the price of gas, for example, has dropped quite significantly over the past several months,” Blair said. The original budget request included estimates for gasoline at a price 25 to 30 cents higher. He said every penny in the cost of gasoline represents about $60,000 in the police budget.

Other savings will come from reducing contributions to several reserve funds, including $1 million from a sick-pay fund, and $200,000 that was to be devoted to installing a new phone service.

But both Blair and Tory acknowledged that budget pressures will only increase next year.

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Blair’s report noted the reductions this year will cause “future base budget pressures that must be dealt with.”

While the police service celebrated a zero increase in the budget over last year, the current budget does not account for a potential salary raise for officers, with negotiations ongoing — which could cause a significant increase in the budget.

Tory noted the work on budgeting has “just begun,” with $25 million in cuts needed this year and a further $44 million needed for 2016 to avoid a tax increase.

The budget hole stems in part from the province cancelling funding to offset social housing costs — a problem the city has known about since 2013. Some councillors argue the city should have acted sooner by raising taxes to meet the city’s needs.

But Tory is committed to a campaign pledge of keeping taxes at or below the rate of inflation. Some $160 million in cuts will be needed by 2018 to avoid property tax hikes.

Meanwhile, budget committee member Councillor Shelley Carroll plans to bring a motion to council in March asking the city to study new revenue tools — potentially city taxes on things like alcohol and tobacco. That move follows comments from outgoing city manager Joe Pennachetti, who said the city needs to consider a sales tax.

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