Georgian Bluffs may be scenic, but it’s also safe.
According to a document prepared by Statistics Canada, Georgian Bluffs has the lowest crime-rate of any Canadian municipality with a population of 10,000.
With a similar number of residents, North Battleford, Saskatchewan had the highest.
Mayor Al Barfoot tells Bayshore Broadcasting News Georgian Bluffs is a friendly community, and he credits homeowners and the OPP for the township’s ranking.
Barfoot says a national radio program even “plugged” Georgian Bluffs “as the place to live” because of the municipality’s negligible amount of criminal activity.
Barfoot concedes he was unaware of the numbers until recently, when he was contacted by a DJ from North Battleford, who was interested in the crime-index.
The two-term mayor has been on the township’s Police Services Board for the last eight-years — and he tells us the crime-rate has remained fairly consistent.
Barfoot also served on the AMO Steering Committee tasked with drafting recommendations for the new OPP billing model, which will be in place by 2015.
The Ontario Liberals say most municipalities using the Ontario Provincial Police for local law enforcement will see their policing costs go up over the next few years, to an average of $355 per property.
Under the new model, base policing will account for about 60 percent of the bill, while reactive calls will account for the other 40 percent.
That was one of the Steering Committee’s recommendations.
Barfoot is still hopeful the Police Services Act will be reopened and updated.
He says the Association of Municipalities of Ontario has several sessions regarding the new billing model scheduled for this week’s conference in London.
However, overall, Barfoot tells us the new formula provides a more “fair” system.
The AMO conference began on Sunday and continues until Wednesday.
It has already been learned this week that farm properties without homes
and military properties will not be counted in the new model.
That’s good news for a community like Meaford, since all properties will now be billed for OPP service.
Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, Yasir Naqvi, calculates 207 municipalities will see their costs increase, while 115 will see a decrease.