Sault Ste. Marie city council wants more details on cost of disbanding local police and switching to OPP
CBC
City councillors in Sault Ste. Marie have voted in favour of a motion to compare the cost of policing between the municipal force and the Ontario Provincial Police.
The motion was put forward by city councillor and former Sault Ste. Marie police officer Sonny Spina.
"The intention behind this motion is nothing more than council doing due diligence for an expense line item to the citizens of Sault Ste. Marie," he said.
"I don't want in any way, shape or form to downplay the importance of the police service within our community or the importance of the job everyone within the police service does."
Spina said despite that, the cost of the city police force makes up 27 per cent of the municipal budget and a provincial report shows it works out to $463 per ratepayer in the Sault.
"The provincial average is $277," he said. "So we're paying a significant amount more in Sault Ste. Marie."
Several municipalities in northeastern Ontario have explored the option of switching over to the Ontario Provincial Police service or made the change.
North Bay city council had a similar debate in 2018, but decided not to explore the change further. West Nipissing, Espanola and Temiskaming Shores have disbanded their local police and hired OPP in recent years.
Sault city councillor Sandra Hollingsworth said she had concerns about the cost of switching to the provincial police.
"OPP is catching some towns by surprise, leaving one mayor feeling shocked and disgusted," she said.
"All OPP costs are up. The mayor of Russell Township said to CBC that his bill from OPP went from $2.3 million in 2023 to roughly $2.8 million in 2024."
But councillor Angela Caputo said the cost of the municipal police force is on the rise as well.
"In my time on council alone, we've seen the police budget grow by over 30 per cent," she said.
"Getting a price doesn't mean we have to go ahead with it. But I think that at this point, I am very much in favour of getting the costing and seeing what comes from that."
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