OPP bill causes ‘holy moly moment’ and possible 6% tax hike in Napanee

[Michael Jack]

Greater Napanee Mayor Terry Richardson experienced a severe case of sticker shock last week when he got the bill for policing the municipality.

At Town Council's regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, Richardson took the opportunity to make a formal inquiry of Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Matthew Grant with respect to a bill he had received from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), which was later revealed to have increased nearly $1 million --- a shocking 23 per cent over the same time last year.

The Town of Greater Napanee contracts policing from the OPP, and the Lennox and Addington County OPP detachment is located in the municipality. Under the Police Services Act, civilian governance is provided by the Police Services Board, but that newly formed board has not yet had a meeting.

“Regarding billing from the OPP on Friday [October 4, 2024], I would like to ask that you or one of your staff members bring forward a report on the new billing model or the new billing information that we received from the OPP regarding our policing costs,” Richardson said to Grant.

“I've got a couple of other requests," the mayor continued. “I should probably wait until that report comes forward, but I'll lay some groundwork that I would also like to see us revisit the jail situation, what it is costing us to provide policing to our local provincial jail.”

Quinte Detention Centre is in Napanee and is a provincially run and regulated correctional facility.

“I would also like to see staff initiate a delegation request for members of [Napanee] Council when they attended ROMA [Rural Ontario Municipalities Association] in January of 2025,” Richardson finished.

"And I think if anyone reads between the lines, they'll see that I have some concerns with respect to some numbers that have been sent to us from our friends at the OPP.”

Grant said he would get on it and that, for the benefit of members of Council and the public, “We're happy to bring forward a report… In light of the mayor's motion, I would say that this year's bill for OPP services will be significantly higher than previous years" and will “materially impact our budget deliberations.” He said he and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Ellen Hamel would put it in a report and bring it forward for the next meeting of Council prior to budget discussions.

“I don’t think we can have budget discussions without first having this discussion," the CAO said.

Before moving on to the next order of business, Councillor Mike Schenk asked if the expenditure report by the CAO and CFO would be broken down for different types of calls for police service.

“It's going to be detailed?" he asked. "That'd be great to see, just so we can reflect on how it's broken down.”

“Yeah, the report that the OPP sent us is a fairly detailed report,” responded the mayor. “I'm not so certain that a Bay Street lawyer would be able to interpret it, but it is a very detailed report with respect to calls for service and the costs that are going to be incurred by our municipality, with respect to the service that they provide… Without getting into a lot of the details tonight... I think we need to have a discussion [about the increased cost to] this municipality.”

Richardson emphasized, “I know it's not just our municipality. I'm sure that probably every municipality in this province that has policing by the OPP had a 'holy moly' moment when they received the email.”

Grant agreed, “Yes, it is a 'holy moly' moment,” and said both he and the CFO had received emails with respect to the particular increase, seeming to indicate that other municipalities had been comparing bills.

Grant said he would be reaching out the OPP for more information, specifically more details on calls for service that “are to provincial facilities such as the jail or areas that wouldn't necessarily constitute public policing, but more a police service to a provincial institution and the like… Is that an area of exploration that Council would like to discuss?”

The mayor replied in the affirmative, saying, "Having been involved in this for as many years as I have, I know that we received some assurances that there should be some cost savings with respect to the provincial facility that we pay to police in this municipality, because of the way that the business is being conducted at the provincial level.”

Richardson said he wanted to ensure that cost saving had happened, noting, “I'm not certain that it has. But I can be proven wrong. So I would just like an opportunity to take a look at that at some point down the road. I think we do need to have a fulsome discussion with respect to the correspondence we've received in the past week.”

Deputy Mayor Brian Calver then asked the obvious question being danced around: “Can we get an idea of what the number is that they're looking for? Is that something we can talk about this early in the game?”

Grant said, “I believe we've received the bill, so I think we can share that number. I'll turn over to the CFO [to] give us the number and what that represents as a percentage on this year's tax levy, that would be helpful.”

CFO Hamel said “the 2025 billing estimate that we received was over $5 million. That is up $928,000 from 2024, which is a 23 per cent increase. And for the impacts on our overall tax levy, that will exceed a six per cent tax levy increase.”

“I think that is something that everybody would say 'holy moly’ to,” reiterated the mayor. "In any event, I look forward to seeing your report, Mr. Grant.”

Schenk spoke again, seeming to address the audience: “I just want to make it clear that the Minister of Finance or whatever, they negotiate the contract with the OPP.” He said the municipal council has no say in that cost and that the municipality must pay the bill, which he called “extremely frustrating. And you wonder why so few people want to run for municipal council.”

It should be noted that Schenk's remarks contradict the Town's website, which states that "Town Council is responsible for negotiating and signing contracts for police services."

Still, Schenk continued, “Now we're going to scream and holler and everything else and do what we could possibly do to get it down. But the point is, I want everybody to know that... We're in a tough position here.”

The mayor said this was why he was looking for the report.

Grant responded, “To Councillor Schenk’s point, I would suggest that both Council and members of the public should be prepared. Our starting point is a minimum of a six per cent tax increase because we are required to pay that... and that is before any municipal needs.”

He then made a commitment to Council “to work with members of the management team and the leadership team to be as prudent as we can be with our own asks, because our financial ability will be challenged in this in this budget cycle, given our starting point is six per cent before we've even looked at our own needs.”

Meetings of the Council of the Town of Greater Napanee can be viewed virtually (or watched afterward) on the Napanee Town Council YouTube channel or attended in person in Council Chambers at Napanee Town Hall, 124 John Street. Further information about Council meetings, including agendas and reports, is available on the Town’s CivicWeb portal.

https://www.pentictonherald.ca/spare_ne ... 3fdb5.html

[Michael Jack]

Greater Napanee faces 23% hike in OPP policing costs, possible 6% tax increase

The Greater Napanee Town Council is grappling with a significant rise in policing costs after receiving concerning correspondence from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). The 2025 OPP service bill is estimated at over $5 million, marking a 23% increase from 2024. This spike could lead to a 6% increase in the town’s tax levy.

In response, council members have requested a detailed report on the new OPP billing model, which will be presented at their next meeting before budget talks begin. Some of the increased costs are tied to policing services for local provincial facilities, such as jails, which council hopes to revisit in the future.

Adding to the council’s frustrations are delays from KPMG, which has yet to deliver two key reports. Council is now seeking biweekly updates from KPMG, with an expected report delivery date in October.

Greater Napanee’s leadership is working to address these rising costs and will discuss possible solutions in the coming weeks. The town council and residents should prepare for tough budget decisions, as the OPP billing increase will significantly impact the town’s finances. Further discussions are set to continue at their next meeting.

https://www.napaneetoday.ca/2024/10/16/86652/