OPP billing, another made-in-Toronto mess

Obscenely high and unsustainable policing costs. OPP bills are destroying communities its officers are supposed to protect. Apparent self-interest is cloaked in the guise of public safety needs. Where is the political outrage while OPP costs continue to climb? Who is going to bring policing costs in this province under control?

OPP billing, another made-in-Toronto mess

Postby Thomas » Wed Feb 11, 2015 3:13 pm

No one can be expected to cope with cost increases in the 300 per cent range – whether private sector, homeowner or public sector. To learn that our provincial decision-makers will, with basically the stroke of a pen, force a cost increase of 329% on the Municipality of Whitestone and its taxpayers isn’t just difficult – it’s enraging.

The province planned to make the funding for OPP services fair. For too long, highly populated centres bore the brunt of police costs because residents from outlying areas were more likely to “get busted” in those centres. Places like Parry Sound paid the most because they were home to all the action in a pay-per-call formula. The province’s intentions were good – implementing a new formula that ensured some of those outlying areas paid their fair share.

But in yet another example of a made-in-Toronto decision, the new billing formula is a botched job.

First of all, it was too much, too quickly. The province mucked up the billing system in the first place, a complete transition in four short years is just unsustainable for our tiniest of townships with limited means and deteriorating infrastructure.

They also forgot to pay attention to the details. The original billing formula was over-simplistic and cookie-cutter. So is the new one. Whitestone mayor Chris Armstrong is right, there’s still a vast region of the province dotted with homes, cottages and even a few businesses that aren’t contributing a dime. These organized areas, represented only by a scattering of roads boards because they don’t have municipal infrastructure, staff or elected officials, certainly cost something to police. Arguably, although they are host to far fewer calls, calls to these rural areas are among the most expensive. After all, they are far away.

And then there is our seasonal demographic. Should municipalities pay the same count per head for cottagers when they only have the potential to use up OPP resources three, maybe four months out of each year?

What was supposed fix a disparity just became something new, but still broken. What it will cost Whitestone taxpayers, and those of our other six rural municipalities, remains to be seen: Decaying bridges? More potholes? Reduced library hours?

Provincial bureaucrats, prompted by their elected leaders, should hit pause on the implementation of this new formula, start over, and get it right.

http://www.parrysound.com/opinion-story ... onto-mess/
Thomas, Administrator

User avatar
Thomas
Site Admin
 
Posts: 2562
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2012 5:18 pm
Location: Canada

Return to Unsustainable Policing Costs

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests

cron