Southgate taxpayers are bracing for a big hike in the cost of OPP policing.
CAO Dave Milliner says the five year contract with Grey County OPP ends December 31st, so they are negotiating a new agreement.
Because the old agreement is expiring, Milliner expects an increase of more than 10 per cent for 2010.
At the same time, they are looking at hiring another officer for the area, which would add about 130 thousand dollars to the cost of the contract.
For 2009, Southgate pays 645 thousand dollars for Grey county OPP coverage.
That works out to about 72 dollars per person in the area.
Milliner says at this point they are waiting for a response from the OPP on a new agreement, and he hopes to get bargaining early in December.
OPP have a small office in Dundalk, which covers the Southgate area.