Grey-Bruce municipalities concerned about spike in OPP costs

[Michael Jack]

Some Grey-Bruce municipalities are expressing concern as they stare down significant increases to OPP policing costs in 2025.

But they remain hopeful that the province will provide some relief.

Area municipalities looking at particularly steep increases are Brockton, whose increase has come it at 30 per cent, and Meaford, which has been presented with a 25 per cent jump from 2024. South Bruce Peninsula, meanwhile, is projecting an increase of close to 15 per cent.

Brockton Mayor Chris Peabody said Friday his municipality is being hit with a “double whammy” with increases for both its front-line policing services and for security costs at the Walkerton courthouse. Walkerton is looking at its bill for policing to increase from about $2.5 million in 2024 to almost $3.3 million next year.

“We are starting in a pretty big hole in our budget because of this, and it would be very nice if the Solicitor General would respond,” Peabody said. “It is getting a lot of pressure from all the towns, but the smaller towns that have OPP and a courthouse are getting the double whammy.”

The Sun Times sent a series of questions to Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner’s office this week, asking for details on the reasons behind the increase and if the province has been hearing the concerns of the municipalities.

On Friday, Chelsea McGee, director of communications and issues management with Kerzner’s office provided a response.

“We understand that some municipalities face additional costs due to their existing agreements with the OPP,” McGee said via e-mail. “We will work with these municipalities to ensure they are not negatively financially impacted by this.”

Peabody said he has raised his municipality’s concerns with Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson who has in turn forwarded them to Kerzner’s office. He said he hasn’t yet received a response from the Solicitor General.

The Brockton mayor said he has mixed feelings about the increase.

He said the front-line police officers deserve a pay increase. In July, OPP officers ratified a new four-year contract that covers 2023 to 2026. The deal includes retroactive raises of 4.75 per cent in the first year, followed by a 4.5 per cent increase in the second year and 2.75 per cent increases in Year 3 and Year 4.

“We do have trouble attracting police officers now, and I certainly know we need that salary increase to get more young people into policing,” he said. “I am cognizant of that.”

But the portion of the increase he finds unacceptable is to court security costs. Peabody said the province is looking for security to be increased at the courthouse, with the total bill for 2025 coming in at about $900,000.

“It is a provincial courthouse, so why is a small municipality with only 10,000 people paying the cost?” said Peabody. “It is very unfair those few towns with courthouses are paying an extraordinary cost.”

Peabody said that so far the Solicitor General has not committed to a court security grant to help offset those costs. In the past the grant hasn’t covered the entire cost of court security, but it has helped, Peabody said. Because the funding hasn’t kept up with inflation, since 2018 Brockton has had to pay $1.3 million toward court security.

“We are at the mercy of the province each year for it to be renewed,” Peabody said. “Right now we have no information about whether the grant will be renewed.”

He noted that Brockton is also looking at spreading out the costs it pays for court security, much like has been done in other counties. In the summer, Grey County agreed to cover the court security and transportation costs that had been borne solely by Owen Sound taxpayers for the past four years. Peabody said a similar request has been made by Brockton to Bruce County, based on one the Town of Goderich has put forward to Huron County. But ideally, Peabody said, the province would cover the entire cost of court security.

Still, the Brockton mayor and Bruce County warden said he is optimistic the province will come through and help to remedy the situation. He said Brockton doesn’t get into its budget until the new year and there is time for a resolution.

“Reading the tea leaves, everybody is pretty sure there is going to be an election in the spring,” said Peabody. “I know the Conservatives are very cognizant of their vote in rural Ontario and generally supportive of that rural base they have.

“Based on that I am not panicking and I am very hopeful there will be a partial resolution. I am not asking for full funding or anything.”

Local municipalities aren’t alone in raising their concerns about the increase in OPP costs, with others across the province expressing disbelief.

The Township of Pelee, a tiny island community in Lake Erie, is looking at a 107 per cent jump to its OPP costs next year.

Closer to Grey-Bruce, Collingwood is facing a 37 per cent increase, Wasaga Beach is up 23 per cent, and Springwater Township up 24 per cent. Some Simcoe County municipalities have asked the upper tier to look into a county-wide force to replace the OPP.

Meaford Mayor Ross Kentner expressed satisfaction with the job the OPP has been doing for his community, but his council has also expressed concern with the projected increase in 2025.

“We have joined a lot the municipalities in writing to the OPP and writing to the Solicitor General saying we might be able to live with a five per cent increase, but this was totally out of the blue” Kentner said.

In Meaford, OPP costs are forecasted to increase about 25 per cent in 2025 to just under $2.6 million. With that increase, the OPP would account for more than 14 per cent of Meaford’s overall municipal levy.

“We had no notice and it is a very inopportune time when most people are in their budgets and have not taken an impact like that into consideration,” said Kentner. “It has caused an enormous amount of angst and work for a lot of municipalities.”

Kentner said he looks forward to hearing from a representative of the OPP at an upcoming meeting to learn the reasoning behind the increase. The OPP billing model implemented in 2015 includes a charge per household for base level services along with a charge based on the number and type of calls for service.

Kentner too is hopeful and optimistic that the province will step up and provide some answers before they finalize their budget.

“I do know the Solicitor General’s department has informed councils that do use the OPP that they intend to intervene, we just don’t know to what extent or in what way,” Kentner said.

“I think the fact the Solicitor General’s department is promising a response makes us hopeful and it is helpful, but what we were hoping for is some kind of rationale.”

In South Bruce Peninsula, policing costs have been projected to rise close to 15 per cent to more than $2.7 million next year.

At its meeting on Tuesday, South Bruce Peninsula council put forward a request for a delegation with the Solicitor General on the issue at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference in Toronto in January.

“While council has no control over these rising costs, we are actively advocating for provincial funding to help alleviate this burden on our community,” the town said in a statement.

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