Mayors ‘on the edge of our seats' awaiting OPP bills after new cap on costs

[Michael Jack]

Bracing for a tough budget year ahead, Napanee Mayor Terry Richardson is hopeful the provincial government has found a way to rein in police bills in Ontario.

After facing a “completely unpalatable” 23 per cent spike in the town’s Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) payment last year — a total which was later offset by relief funding — Richardson is closely watching new regulations designed to bring annual cost increases under control.

"We’re all going to be sitting and waiting on the edge of our seats here in the next four to six weeks, I guess, to see what the billing statement is going to say,” he said.

Napanee is one of about 330 municipalities in Ontario that contract policing to the OPP, paying for the service through a billing model that includes a base cost per property as well as variable costs depending on the number of calls and other factors.

After a new contract boosted officer salaries, many municipalities were hit last fall with a surprise increase of between 20 and 30 per cent on their OPP bill.

In response to outcry from disgruntled mayors, the provincial government announced $77 million to ease policing costs in those communities — much to the relief of cash-strapped municipal councils.

This year, the province is proposing a more permanent solution.

In a letter to mayors, Ontario’s solicitor general said the 2025-2026 increase will be capped at 11 per cent, and the threshold for receiving a discount based on call volume will be lowered going forward.

"We heard loud and clear that greater clarity, predictability and stability in the OPP cost recovery model, and associated billing statements, is critical to municipalities," the letter read.

But some mayors are skeptical the changes will make a meaningful difference.

Cap still ‘very, very high’

In a public statement, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) said the changes "do not provide a long-term solution to the growing policing cost pressures" municipalities face.

The statement added that "very few municipalities" are likely to benefit from the new discount threshold.

In Hawkesbury, Ont., Mayor Robert Lefebvre said uncertainty over the cost of policing could delay the town’s budget cycle by two months.

And if the OPP increase comes in at the 11 per cent cap, it would still represent a “very, very high” increase in costs, he said.

Regional hubs like Hawkesbury are particularly vulnerable to steep increases, he added, due to the high volume of calls they receive.

"This is a concern of ours, and our municipal treasurer," Lefebvre said.

Likewise, Richardson called the 11 per cent cap "a little bit concerning,” and said the potential effects of the new provincial regulations remain "a bit of a mystery."

If Napanee’s police bill came in at the top of that range, he said it would still represent a spending increase of nearly half a million dollars — or a three per cent bump in the municipality’s tax levy.

"That’s before ... we even start talking about buying some heavy fleet or fixing some roads or getting people’s garbage picked up," he said.

Richardson said the town is "knee-deep" in its budget cycle, but won’t be able to put the finishing touches on its spending plans until policing costs are squared away.

"We can’t continue on this line where we have to keep going to our local taxpayers and asking for a three or four per cent increase for policing,” he said.

"We all understand that keeping our community safe and funding our police force is important to everybody, but we also can’t tax people right out of their houses, either.”

Regardless, Richardson remains optimistic the province will find a solution.

"Last year when the statement came in, they listened to us," he said. "We’re hopeful that something’s going to come in that’s going to be palatable to our taxpayer."

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