More and more communities are expressing concerns about police costs.
Kenora mayor Andrew Poirier says he’s been approached by a number of municipalities in southern Ontario.
He adds that it’s not just a northwestern Ontario problem.
“We have a lot of common issues,” says Poirier.
“Some of those municipalities have even more of an issue as it relates to the super-jails. Costs are attached for policing. There are costs that flow from these facilities for these communities and it’s crippling for them.”
Poirier says they do get some funding for policing provincial institutions, but it isn’t keeping up with the cost of inflation.
“The jail and the courthouse create expense for this community. Because if we’re paying for court security or jail transportation, there’s a cost for the municipal taxpayer, and so we’re looking for some additional relief there.”
Poirier says the cost of OPP policing is just one of the issues he wants to bring up next week at the Association of Municipalities on Ontario conference.
