‘Policing is never going to be cheap but we have to look at better solutions than we have today,’ says Wasaga Seaside mayor
Some Simcoe County municipalities, feeling handcuffed by the latest information of a serious improve to Ontario Provincial Police prices subsequent 12 months, voted this week to have the County of Simcoe examine the potential of a brand new county-wide police service.
At their committee of the entire assembly on Nov. 12, on the agenda was a letter from the City of Wasaga Seaside calling on the county to undertake a feasibility research for a county power to discover their choices outdoors of the OPP mannequin.
“Most of us are facing this same issue with respect to the OPP and the increases we’re seeing this year,” mentioned Wasaga Seaside Mayor Brian Smith throughout the assembly. “This is quite clearly not sustainable.”
“Policing is never going to be cheap but we have to look at better solutions than we have today,” he mentioned.
Of the County of Simcoe’s 16 member municipalities and two separated cities, the one municipalities not coated by OPP are Barrie (served by the Barrie Police Service), Bradford West Gwillimbury and Innisfil (served by South Simcoe Police Service).
The information of a serious OPP contract value improve got here as a shock to many cities utilizing the OPP companies when new contracts got here to councils late final month, together with Collingwood the place there is a 37 per cent improve to the OPP invoice this 12 months. Orillia is anticipating a 25 per cent improve whereas Midland is anticipating a 26 per cent improve.
Erin Cranton of the OPP’s company communications bureau mentioned in a latest electronic mail that the OPP acknowledges there are considerations about the price of policing companies subsequent 12 months.
She mentioned underneath the present OPP billing mannequin, all municipalities are paying the identical base companies value per property, plus extra prices for requires service, extra time, lodging, cleansing companies, prisoner transportation, courtroom safety and enhancements.
Cranton estimates the price for policing per common family throughout Ontario for 2025 will probably be $399.
She mentioned prices for parts comparable to courtroom safety, prisoner transportation and in some instances, requires service all decreased throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as many courtroom proceedings had been finished just about. As prices are inclined to take two years to reconcile, this meant that for the previous two years prices had been down, however at the moment are coming again up the additional away the lockdown pandemic days change into.
“While this is the highest per property cost since the implementation of the OPP billing model in 2015, this cost continues to compare favourably to other police services in Ontario,” she mentioned.
Throughout dialogue on the county desk on Tuesday, Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin mentioned the South Simcoe police are “amazing,” nonetheless this 12 months’s cost-per-household Bradford and Innisfil predict to shoulder works out to $733.66.
“While I understand my friends in the house here are dealing with double-digit increases … you’re still significantly lower than South Simcoe police,” mentioned Dollin.
Midland Mayor Invoice Gordon — who himself served as a police officer with the previous Midland Police Service for 25 years — reminded council that Midland had its personal municipal police power till a 2017 resolution by council selected to disband it in 2018 to transition to the OPP as a cost-saving measure.
“They got into the predatory practice of taking over municipal police services,” mentioned Gordon. “For now, the OPP is highest paid, until Toronto does their negotiation. This is the way the cycle works. We’re not going to escape that.”
“Policing is going to continue to be expensive. This billing model is unfair and has been since inception,” he mentioned.
On the finish of debate, the committee voted to refer the matter again to county employees to collect their enter earlier than deciding whether or not to tug the set off on a regional police power feasibility research.
The committee additionally voted in favour of getting Warden Basil Clarke ship a letter to the solicitor common concerning the OPP billing improve for Simcoe County municipalities serviced by the OPP, which might even be forwarded to the ministry of municipal affairs and housing requesting they provoke a assessment of the OPP billing components.
Choices made throughout a committee of the entire assembly must be ratified on the subsequent county council assembly earlier than going into impact.
— With recordsdata from Derek Howard and Michael Owen
