The City of Kamloops was forced to redo their 2020 budget, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, by deferring several projects including a study to look at much needed renovations at the RCMP detachment.

The $750,000 project is on hold for at least a year and while on the NL Morning News, Superintendent Syd Lecky said he knows the force has the support of the city and they’ll just have to make due until until the pandemic blows over.

“We can do it for some time more,” he said.

“You know as we’ve grown throughout the years, we’ve outgrown the space available to us and that’s not just the regular members but don’t forget we also have over sixty municipal employees that work along side us too.”

However, Lecky heaped lots of praise on the city for being supportive during a difficult economic time.

“Our mayor, our director (Byron) McCorkell as well as the CAO, [David Trawin] they know what our pressures are and they’re going to do what they can to support us as they have done certainly throughout the years,” he said.

“In my time here I’ve had nothing but support.”

He’s optimistic the renovations will happen in due time.

“When the time comes, we’re in unprecedented times in terms of COVID right now and we know it’s going to take some time to get over it and when that time comes, I’m sure we’ll be thought of.”

Another deferral is the hiring of a new crime analyst but much with the renovations, Lecky says he understands the city’s position.

“We have analysts currently. You can do more with more and clearly if we don’t have an additional analyst, it’s going to slow us down potentially but we will continue to get the job done as we always do,” he said.

“We will have to adjust and I fully appreciate and understand why we can’t get that position but there have been others that have been supported and that have been contributing to us and the success we’re having and a very small price to pay considering what the city’s dealing with, so I have no issues with that decision.”