Town to ask OPP for cost estimate

Obscenely high and unsustainable policing costs. OPP bills are destroying communities its officers are supposed to protect. Apparent self-interest is cloaked in the guise of public safety needs. Where is the political outrage while OPP costs continue to climb? Who is going to bring policing costs in this province under control?

Town to ask OPP for cost estimate

Postby Thomas » Fri Jan 24, 2014 5:42 am

Orangeville Council decided narrowly Monday that the public has as right to know how much Ontario Provincial Police services could cost Orangeville taxpayers and whether the force is a viable option to the current municipal police.

In a recorded vote, a motion to seek an OPP costing report passed 4-3. A costing report will detail what the provincial police force believes are the town’s policing needs and what the OPP would bill the municipality for those services.

Mayor Rob Adams and Deputy Mayor Warren Maycock, who both sit on the Orangeville Police Service Board, and Councillor Gail Campbell voted against seeking the cost estimate. Councillors Mary Rose, Scott Wilson, Jeremy Williams and Sylvia Bradley supported getting the costing report.

The first draft 2014 municipal budget pegged Orangeville Police Service costs at $9,061,367, representing a $486,634 rise over last year. Almost 20 per cent of the town’s budget is eaten up by policing costs. The budget’s first draft suggested a 6.2 per cent tax increase this year. Council is investigating cuts to bring that possible increase down.

“We really would be fools not to explore every option,” said Coun. Williams. “We are struggling with our budget. It (the budget) is going to be either much higher than it should be or we’re going to have a lot of stuff cut out that shouldn’t be cut out.

“Either way, policing costs are one of the main drivers of our budget.”

Coun. Wilson said the cost estimate will contain no comment on the effectiveness or the efficiency of Orangeville’s police. And, he said, the report is free.

“We deserve it for ourselves to find out these details,” said Chris Jans, a resident who lobbied council for the costing report. Jans said he believed the OPP would cost as little as half what the town is paying to maintain the OPS.

Though he’s for maintaining the OPS, Mayor Adams said he’s committed to doing everything possible to save taxpayers money. He said policing costs are rising across the province, whether the service is provided by the OPP or by a municipal force. “I want to get value for taxpayers,” the mayor said.

As for the possibility the provincial police force could replace the OPS, the mayor said it wouldn’t be in taxpayers’ best interests. Based on reports from other communities, he said the OPP tends to lowball its first contract so the municipality believes it’s gotten a good deal. Then the provincial force’s costs tend to skyrocket in subsequent contracts, he said.

“Scaremongering is not going to help,” Jans said.

Chris Thompson, another resident who addressed council, agreed. He asked what’s the fear in getting a free estimate from the OPP. When the town’s Public Works department needs to buy a new piece of equipment, multiple suppliers are polled for estimates.

Coun. Rose said she supports the Orangeville Police Services and its board.

“I have no fear in asking for an OPP costing,” she said. “None whatsoever. I think we owe it to our residents to be able to look at the costing and say, ‘This is what’s being offered and this is what it would be costing and we want to stay with our own police force’.”

Coun. Bradley supports having an Orangeville police force for Orangeville, but said the public “deserves to see those numbers.”

http://www.citizen.on.ca/news/2014-01-2 ... mment-1928
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