Cost of OPP service for Ramara Township could top $2M in 2026

[Michael Jack]

The bill for emergency services will come with a higher price tag for the Township of Ramara in 2026.

All municipalities that contract policing out to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) must allocate part of their annual budget for those services.

The amount paid is determined by the number of calls and a base cost per property. Earlier this year, Michael Kerzner, the province's solicitor general, capped increases from the OPP to municipalities at 11 per cent.

As a result of that directive, Ramara council agreed to increase its budget allocation to the OPP by 11 per cent.

Based on anticipated costs for the year, Ramara budgeted $2,140,900 for OPP services in 2025. After it was adopted, the province announced a reduction to 2025 policing costs for small and rural municipalities, which lowered Ramara's 2025 OPP bill.

For 2026, the proposed budget initially included a six per cent increase over the 2025 revised billing. Based on the 11 per cent increase cap for 2026, Mayor Basil Clarke proposed an amendment to reflect the full allowable increase.

At this week's budget meeting, council approved an updated 2026 OPP budget of $2,038,000 to reflect that potential 11 per cent hike.

When Clarke asked if anyone disagreed with increasing the OPP contribution and thus the tax levy, Coun. David Snutch asked about taking the extra five per cent out of a reserve fund, instead.

“Because then you would start the next year five per cent behind ... You’re just kicking the can down the road to the next council,” said Clarke, voicing the expectation that the 11 per cent rate will be in place for the next three years.

Councillors Sherri Bell, Joe Gough and Dana Tuju were in agreement with the mayor.

“If we deplete that reserve, we can find ourselves in trouble when we have to find a way to deliver policing to communities,” said Bell.

Gough said “the road is getting bumpier and bumpier” as the can is kicked, referring to the ongoing difficulties municipalities face paying the province for policing.

“Coun. Bell made a very good point with the fate of what’s happening with policing in the province. We see these things that are happening at the expense of our municipal taxpayers,” said Coun. Jennifer Fisher, also agreeing to raise the rate to 11 per cent in 2026.

When it came to the capital project of renovations at Ramara Fire Station 1, there was a lot of discussion about the costs.

The project, coming in at $700,000, includes expanding the perimeters of the building.

“The proposed project would expand the size of the fire station, specifically expanding the three garage bays to make them longer, through bays to provide additional storage capacity for existing equipment and trucks,” Melissa Gowanlock, the township's manager of communications and community experience, said in an email.

Fire Chief Tony Stong spoke to the space shortage.

“The outside measurements of that building are 50 feet and then you take up your construction, six inches on each end, the length of the truck is 48 feet six inches, so there is literally three inches at the back and three inches at the front,” he explained.

The mayor’s budget allocated $350,000 to the fire reserves. Of this amount, Clarke said some is for trucks and equipment, a required expense every year.

He budgeted for $200,000 to go into reserve for the renovations to the building, a project council has been aware of for almost a decade.

“My motion would be that we stop (the fire hall renovations) until the assessment has been finalized or we reduce that (amount) because I don’t think it’s an urgent situation,” said Snutch.

He said he is in support of the reserve funds for the renovations, but because the building assessment will take place first, “we should be very careful what we spend on until we see the final of that report.”

Fisher voiced her support of the $200,000.

“We’ve come across many times where council has deferred projects, and the cost just gets greater and greater,” she said, worrying about next year’s inflated rate for the same project.

“Seven years ago, this project was just over $100,000. If we’re putting in $100,000 every year, we’re not going to have enough in seven years to do it again because of inflation.”

A motion was carried to amend the amount to $100,000, reducing the reserve amount for fire hall renovations by half.

The budget process, under strong mayor powers, allows Clarke the right to veto any amendments. However, he decided late this week not to exercise that right.

The approved 2026 budget includes a 4.05 per cent municipal tax rate increase, which translates to approximately $25 more per $100,000 of assessed residential property value on the municipal portion of the tax bill, according to a news release from the township.

The township’s $42.9-million total budget “balances affordability with long-term sustainability,” notes the release.

Key investments include the following:

- $4 million in road repairs and rehabilitation across the township, including bridge and culvert renewals and upgrading gravel to hard surface.
- $10.15-million wastewater treatment plant project to address aging sprayfields.
- $300,000 in improvements at the Ramara Centre, supported by a provincial Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund grant, including roof replacement, accessible playground construction, and baseball diamond rehabilitation.
- $320,000 for fleet renewal and $40,000 for fleet management software to enhance maintenance tracking and efficiency.
- $880,700 contribution to reserves.
- $80,000 for building condition assessments of municipally owned facilities.
- Staffing investments to build organizational capacity and service delivery, including an IT and process co-ordinator, financial analyst, fire prevention/training officer, and new administrative and student roles across numerous departments.

“These changes reflect Ramara’s ongoing efforts to modernize operations, streamline processes, and enhance customer service,” notes the news release.

“The township continues to leverage technology, training, and cross-departmental collaboration to ensure efficient, transparent, and responsive service delivery.”

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