The Ontario government is proposing over $77 million in financial relief to municipalities to help offset the increased cost of municipal police services.
According to Bancroft Mayor Paul Jenkins this will provide significant aid to the Town of Bancroft and other municipalities affected by the recent jump in OPP costs.
“They (the province) have come back with a plan and a formula to substantially reduce the impact to the town of Bancroft. So instead of it being a 4.5 percent hit to our tax levy, it appears it’s going to be about 1%. So instead of the approximately $300,000 increase that we had coming, it looks like the net effect is going to be probably about 55,000 for 2025.”
Jenkins says that municipalities don’t yet know how sustainable the relief funding will be.
“We don’t know what’s happening down the road, in future years, if this was a one time thing or not. So there’s still a lot more to come on this, but definitely welcome relief for 2025.”
The police billing model, that calculates how much towns are billed for police services is determined by the Solicitor General’s Office.
According to 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.”
The Solicitor General’s office says that the Ontario government’s proposal would support small and rural municipalities by offsetting the 2025 impacts of OPP salary increases. This includes a 3.75 per cent bill reduction on 2023 total reconciled costs, a 44 per cent bill reduction on 2023 reconciled overtime costs, and a 10 per cent bill reduction on amounts invoiced for 2025 policing costs.
The province says they will also be examining options for reviewing the OPP billing model to ensure that it meets the needs of communities across the province.
