Orangeville Police Service (OPS) used a two-hour information session on Monday (Sept. 9) to provide details about its service and answer questions from the public.
Chief Wayne Kalinski, Deputy Chief Leah Gilfoy and Sergeant Dave McLagan brokedown OPS’ ‘standalone’ model, touched on some its data and spoke about the budget.
During Sgt. McLagan’s presentation, he noted that one of OPS’ core values is fiscal responsibility. He says that OPS has returned more than $800,000 to the municipal reserves in recent years.
Sgt. McLagan also briefly spoke about severances and the economic impact disbanding OPS would have on the town.
According to his presentation, there are up to 69 employees that could receive severance if council were to choose OPP. Sgt. McLagan says the collective agreement with uniform officers and civilian staff includes five weeks of pay per year of service.
Through his research, when Espanola and Midland disbanded their municipal police force, 20 to 30 per cent of officers didn’t transition to OPP.
With policing Orangeville’s biggest expense in the budget, the new council is investigating whether or not going to OPP will save the taxpayer money.
OPS’ net budget in 2019 is $8.1-million. The cost per property is $822.77.
In June, OPP proposed a three-year transitional contract with an annual expense budget of about $8.1-million. There would also be a $1.2-million start-up cost.
OPP would use the OPS headquarters on C Line as a satellite office, but says it would require upgrades.
In OPS’ presentation it was noted that the C Line facility meets current standards and that no major renovations or infrastructure is required at this time.
On Tuesday (Sept. 10), OPP will be at Orangeville Town Hall to make a presentation on its service and answer questions from the public. It starts at 7 p.m..
The entire public information meeting can be seen below:
