Kincardine Council had their chance at Wednesday’s meeting to probe the estimated 16 per cent increase in contract policing costs with the OPP.
Contract Analyst, Sergeant Dino Tsitomeneas says the OPP is trying to better recover the actual costs of operating expenses.
He says Kincardine’s previous five-year policing contract, which expired at the beginning of May, still had the municipality paying for operating expenses per first class constable at the 2001 rate of just under 17 thousand dollars per year.
The rate for 2008 was over 29 thousand dollars.
The municipality will also be paying for part of the new Staff Sergeant’s position, along with part of the cost for an additional full-time officer.
The increase means over 336 thousand dollars more on Kincardine’s policing tab for 2009, bringing it to a total amount of 2.3 million dollars.
Under the new five-year contract, wages could still change on a year to year basis.
Councillor Gordon Campbell doesn’t support the increase and says the number of officers serving Kincardine could be reduced by one in order to save money.
Councillor Randy Roppel says the OPP is only following it’s own procedures and the municipality should take it’s concerns to the provincial government.
Tsitomeneas says councillors are showing their responsibility to ratepayers by asking questions.
Deputy Mayor Laura Haight says the 16 per cent increase is a bit of a scare, but she believes Kincardine is getting tremendous value for the dollars it spends on OPP service.
Policing costs per capita in Kincardine are 167 dollars, compared to 216 dollars in Saugeen Shores, which has a municipal police service.
Mayor Larry Kraemer says on the good side, the OPP returned about 200 thousand dollars to the municipality in savings last year, and he’s hopeful it happens again this year.
Municipalities with OPP contracts receive rebates if not all dollars in the estimated budget are used.
That rebate usually results from when officers are temporarily assigned to other duties elsewhere in the province.
Kincardine’s actual policing costs over the past five years have ended up being 11 per cent lower than the estimated amounts.