Government steps in to alleviate OPP tax burden

[Michael Jack]

The Town of Fort Frances can likely breathe a bit easier as the Ontario Govenrment has announced it will help offset the increased cost of policing to small towns and rural municipalities across the province.

Following outcry from municipalities in Ontario that are serviced by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) as they began to receive their bills ahead of the 2025 budget, the Ontario Government announced on Friday, November 29, 2024, that it would be working to provide more than $77 million in “financial relief” to communities facing significant budget increases due to policing costs. The government statement said the investment would help the small and rural municipalities that were struggling most in the face of the increased policing costs as a result of a new uniform and civilian collective agreement that was reached between the province and the Ontario Provincial Police Association (OPPA) in July 2024, that included general salary increases for 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026.

“Our government is working closely with our municipal partners and our women and men in uniform to keep communities across Ontario safe,” said Ontario's Solicitor General Michael Kerzner.

“The financial relief we are proposing will help municipal leaders balance their budgets and invest in their communities while ensuring no change to the policing provided by the OPP that keeps families and businesses safe.”

According to reporting from the CBC, the new contract saw officers receive raises of 4.75 percent retroactive to 2023, 4.5 percent for 2024 and 2.75 percent for 2025 and 2026. The raises come after the repeal of Bill 124, a measure which capped wages for those working in the public sector, including OPP officers.

Fort Frances was one such community that saw a dramatic increase in its OPP costs for 2025. At town council's regular meeting on October 15, 2024, councillors discovered that the town would be paying the OPP more than $3.4 million for their services in 2025, which is an increase of nearly $740,000 from 2023's total cost. At the time, Fort Frances mayor Andrew Hallikas expressed dismay at the sudden and unexpected cost increase, noting it would not be sustainable for the town and other similar small and rural municipalities.

“We have no control over it. We get the invoice, we pay it. But a $700,000 increase in that one budget item, if we can’t find other places to cut that one item alone, could add about a five percent increase to our taxation. So it’s pretty shocking,” Hallikas said during that council meeting.

“Prior to receiving this invoice, in previous years, last year and this year, for instance, we had the second-highest cost per household for policing in the entire province, second only to Kenora. If we look at the Rainy River District, the town’s cost per household is the highest by far. This is simply not sustainable. The formula for calculating policing costs must change to reflect individual differences in communities, particularly small, rural and northern communities, which do have unique differences.”

Now, according to the government's announcement of funding to offset the policing cost, the investment will aim to provide relief with a 3.75 percent bill reduction on 2023 total reconciled costs, a 44 percent bill reduction on 2023 reconciled overtime costs and a 10 percent reduction on amounts invoiced for 2025 policing costs, along with continuing to fund its annual $125 million Court Security and Prisoner Transportation Transfer Payment Program for the 2025 calendar year.

“ROMA [Rural Ontario Municipal Association] welcomes provincial action to reduce the impact of increasing Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) costs on rural municipalities,” said ROMA chair Christa Lowry.

“In the context of inflation, infrastructure pressures, and a growing homelessness crisis, rural municipalities simply cannot afford a 20% increase in OPP costs. This provincial investment acknowledges the escalating fiscal challenges municipalities face. We look forward to ongoing partnership to put rural municipalities on a sustainable path.

The province also noted in its statement that it will be “examining options for reviewing the OPP billing model to ensure that it meets the need of communities across the province,” though no further details were included about what that might look like for municipalities in the northwest.

A spokesperson for the Town of Fort Frances said a local response to the government's announcement is incoming, but it was not received before press time.

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