The City of Dryden is seeking another OPP costing study, 17 months after a switch to OPP was turned down by Council by a 6-1 vote.
Mayor Greg Wilson’s motion to move forward in talks with Ontario’s Solicitor General and the OPP was accepted at Monday night’s Council meeting, with only Shayne MacKinnon voting against it.
In the motion, Wilson stated policing costs per household for the City are the highest in the region and represent about 24% of the City’s annual budget.
For 2019, Dryden’s policing costs were $1,265.33 per household, while the average cost for Kenora, Fort Frances and Red Lake were about $727.
In Wilson’s request he says costs for policing in Dryden have risen at an annual rate of just under 4%, twice the rate of inflation on average over the past 15 years.
He says the recent contract settlement with the Dryden Police Association indicates that the trend will likely continue into the future.
Wilson says liability is also a very large financial risk for the community.
His letter states “Should the local Police Service be found liable for an incident, the costs would be born 100% by the community. Settlement costs can be extremely high. Settlements against a contracted force would be borne by the contracted service, not the City.”
It adds “It is evident that in today’s environment with increasing regulations, training requirements and social issues demanding more and more police time, local police services in small communities do not have the depth of resources or the scale of operations to provide cost-effective policing. This is not a comment on the quality of police officers serving our community; it is a comment on the ability of small police forces to deliver services on a cost effective basis. It is out of their control.”
MacKinnon quickly struck back asking Council to put it to a public vote in the 2022 Municipal election.
MacKinnon is questioning the timing of the costing request, stating he was absolutely floored.
In a previous meeting, he said “This motion is a sore thumb reaction to a recently granted police arbitration award, rather than a credible, financial or liability need to change services.”
The award seemed to favour the police union.
MacKinnon says “This council has so many good things to work on. Now we’re moving backwards to vote on an issue that rightly, should be decided by the next voters in this community.”
MacKinnon is questioning if the City is financially able to make the move during COVID-19 times, noting government grants are drying up and money likely won’t be available down the road for needed community upgrades.
He believes that they spent around $100,000 between 2017 and 2019 to make their initial decision, in addition to over two years of dedicated staff time on the issue.
MacKinnon also pointed to tense relations between police and the City over the initial costing process.
He adds the public has made it clear that they don’t want another study due to a number of issues.
Councillor Norm Bush says this motion is about the future and the sustainability of Dryden as a community going forward.
Bush says they must look at all financial saving options and requesting a study gives them some numbers to look at.
“Even though it appears Dryden will finish 2020 with an operating surplus, there is great concern heading into 2021. Budget preparations are underway, but significant questions remain unanswered, including reduced city revenues and concerns about provincial and federal grants.”
Councillor and Chair of Dryden Police Services Board John Carlucci and Councillor Michelle Price also agreed they are interested in the comparative costs between to the two services.
In a November 2018 costing presentation, OPP Sergeant Kelly Withrow reported the total estimated policing cost for the City would be $4,754,660 a year during a three year transition period, with a one-time capital start-up of $663,066.
The total in the first year would be $5,417,666.
The OPP projected $1 million in savings by year five of the contract, money Norm Bush says could be spent on fixing critical infrastructure in the community.
All on Council expressed their appreciation and pride for the Dryden Police Service, stressing it’s not about level of service, it’s about finances.
There is no time-line with the new study but the previous exercise spanned two years.
The plans to look at setting up a Committee to move the process forward and will consider using a consultant.
