When Vancouver wants to close roads for marathons or divert traffic for other special events, the city calls in its special municipal constables.

They belong to a police department unit called the Vancouver Traffic Authority (VTA) and do a lot of the same kind of work performed by off-duty Toronto police officers at a fraction of the cost.

In Toronto, a paid-duty cop will soon earn $68 an hour — for a minimum three hours. The hourly rate of pay for a VTA non-unionized traffic constable ranges from $28 to $36.

“It appears to be, obviously, a cheaper way to do than positioning full-time (Vancouver police) members on an overtime basis,” Sgt. Randy Fincham said Wednesday from Vancouver.

“I haven’t seen any concerns . . . or problems with it,” says Fincham. He started out as a Vancouver traffic constable 18 years ago before joining the department full-time.

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Three years ago, Toronto city council scrapped many of the rules requiring paid-duty cops to be hired. Council was acting on recommendations by Auditor-General Jeff Griffiths, who was looking for ways to rein in ballooning costs.

Since 2011, direct city expenditures have dropped 40 per cent, to $1.9 million last year. Yet there’s more paid-duty work than ever in Toronto, with off-duty officers pulling in $26.1 million in extra pay.

It’s believed many of the assignments are connected to construction activity. In Vancouver, construction companies are required “to provide their own qualified traffic teams,” Fincham said.

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Griffiths urged the police board to consider the more “economical” Vancouver model as an alternative to the city’s current paid-duty system, noting that adopting it here would require an amendment to provincial legislation.

Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act section 134 allows a police officer to direct traffic. In other limited circumstances, the HTA section 146.1 allows a “traffic control person” to display a stop or slow sign adjacent to a construction site.

Changing the legislation to expand the traffic authority powers of non-police officers “would require extensive consultation with police services, municipalities and stakeholders,” an Ontario Ministry of Transportation spokesman wrote in email.

Toronto police nixed the Vancouver alternative, warning that the potential loss of millions of dollars in paid-duty income could hurt morale within the police rank and file.

“There needs to be a different model,” said Councillor Michael Thompson, who is vice-chair of the police board.

Thompson said he is fielding complaints by people upset with “excessive” demands for paid-duty officers, including one event organizer who is at his “wit’s end.” Last year, the TPS told the organizer he needed five to seven paid-duty officers. This year, the TPS told him he needs 26, Thompson said.

Thompson plans to raise the issue at Thursday’s monthly board meeting.

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