Robert Fisher
Staff Reporter
BARRY’S BAY – Small municipalities which contract with the OPP for policing are getting some much-needed relief on the cost increases announced last July. Policing costs were set to increase between about 20 and 30 per cent for municipalities, representing anywhere from approximately three to six per cent on residents’ property tax bills for 2025.
The Gazette attempted, since the announcement of a new contract between the OPP and Ontario Provincial Police Association was announced last summer, to seek input from the office of Solicitor Michael Kerzner about how municipalities could afford the increase and how the province could pass the cost on given that the increase was a direct result of provincial legislation that was ruled unconstitutional by the courts. We received no replies to our multiple inquiries. We reported, shortly after the contract was announced, that the costs would be passed on to municipalities. Inquiries to the Association of Municipalities Ontario (AMO) and Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) were, similarly, not responded to.
Kerzner’s office announced, last Friday, that the province will provide $77 million to municipalities, “to help offset the increased cost of municipal police services provided by the Ontario Provincial Police.” The media release states the financial assistance, “will help municipal leaders balance their budgets and invest in their communities.”
The new contracts with OPP uniformed and civilian staff provide a 4.75 per cent pay increase retroactive to 2023, 4.5 per cent retroactive to 2024 and 2.75 per cent in 2025 and 2026. The retroactive component is due to the provincial legislation ruled unconstitutional that capped public sector wage increases to one per cent for three years. The province passed the legislation, Bill 124, in 2019. The province has, so far, had to pay out more than $7 billion in retroactive pay and legal costs. The $77 million announced Friday is on top of what has already been paid.
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