Municipalities In Huron County And Across The Province Concerned About Increase In OPP Costs

by Bob Montgomery

The issue of increased OPP policing cost was first raised at county council by Howick Township Reeve Doug Harding who said the policing costs were considerably higher this year and that was putting pressure on local municipalities.

At this week's council meeting, Huron East Mayor Bernie MacLellan said the increase was affecting municipalities across the province and he had raised the issue with Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson. MacLellan explained the province had capped increases for policing at one percent for the last few years and that was a good thing for municipalities because it kept their costs down. Unfortunately for the municipalities, the courts ruled that was unconstitutional, so now the municipalities have to increase their payment for OPP policing and make up the increase that was lost over the time the cap was in place.

Most municipalities are now being hit with increases of twenty to twenty-five percent in one year and they didn't get the notice until very recently which is creating some real challenges as municipalities begin work on next year's budget. “I asked Lisa to have the province take a look at it,” MacLellan said, “with the understanding that if the price had been raised year after year the municipalities wouldn't be hit with such a big number because they would have been paying it all along.”

If the province could find a way to help them with the shell shock for this year, that would give the municipalities time to prepare for it in the following year's budget. He also points out, while it's understood the province didn't deliberately try impose the problem onto the municipalities, it is the municipalities who are paying for the court's decision that what the province did was incorrect.

Maclellan says the feedback he's received has been positive and they are reviewing the situation. He's hoping the province will pick up the increase for this year and that would give the municipalities a full year to figure out how they can work it into the next year's budget.