OPP costing presentation in Dryden, Ont., leaves councillors with questions

The cost to have the OPP provide policing services in Dryden, Ont., will cost more than $5 million in the first year the provincial force would take over the service.

It's higher than the $3.9M the Dryden Police Service has in its 2018 budget. After the first year, which includes some of the transition and capital costs that would be borne by the city, the cost to police the city of 8,000 goes down to $4.7M.

"You know, initial thought is they're talking a significant amount of money," said Dryden mayor Greg Wilson. "I'd like to ask them some more questions. It seems fairly high."

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Wilson, along with other members of council, and the public will be able to ask the OPP more questions, but it will all be filtered through Dryden CAO Roger Nesbitt. The OPP said at the meeting Wednesday night they want one point of contact when it comes to discussing the policing contract.

"If my numbers are right, I get sweaty feet when I hear certain numbers," said Wilson.

The OPP costing request, made by Dryden city council, was to see if any money could be saved from the current city operating budget. The cash-strapped city will make debt repayments, as high as $6M, for the next couple of years.

"So, I'm thinking our police budget for 2018 was about $4 million, so that means $5.6 million for the next year, I'd have to swallow hard, and get more information," he said.

While the financial information, at first glance did not show immediate savings for the city, one concern is the unknown of how much the OPP would charge after three years.

The provincial force creates what is called a transitional contract, which lasts approximately three years, where costs are known to the municipality.

After that, the OPP looks at calls for service and other variables, to determine the long-term price of providing police.

"The problem I have is when you go through a process like this, and there are so many unknowns, by the end of year three, it may be a totally different picture," said Wilson.

Every other municipality in northwestern Ontario, with the exception of Thunder Bay and Oliver-Paipoonge, has its policing provided by the OPP. In recent years, larger communities such as Kenora, Red Lake and Sioux Lookout have complained about the increasing cost of the provincial force.

A new costing formula has provided some relief to those communities, but Wilson said any decision made on policing in Dryden needs to make financial sense.

Wilson said the city would have to potentially look at a debenture to pay the $5M for the first year of policing. He mused that might not be easy to convince council to take out a loan to finance the police service.

He said council would also have to look into hiring a consultant - which could cost upwards of $40,000 - to nail down the cost of the OPP after the three year initial contract is up.

Wilson said other questions, such as what to do with the police building, along with vehicles and other assets are not easily answered, but all play a role in the decision.

He said if council has too many financial concerns about the cost of the OPP, he believes that decision can be made quickly.

Wilson said the goal is to not make any emotional decisions, and how that can backfire, referring to the back and forth between the city and its volunteer firefighters, many who resigned earlier this year.

Police association responds

The Dryden Police Service, which has policed the city since 1910, has 20 uniformed officers, including the chief.

Scott Silver, the Dryden Police Association's President, said his members are worried about their livelihood, if city council decides to go with the OPP.

"Well, we would all have to apply if we wanted jobs. And, there's no guarantee. Espanola Police, Midland Police, all their officers weren't taken on for various reasons, and those aren't disclosed to us."

Silver said the association is ready to educate the public on how the current community-policing model works for a city the size of Dryden, and the advantages to having a local force.

He said the Dryden Police Service also has special constables, which enforce bylaws and animal control. Those services would not be offered by OPP, he said, meaning the two services cannot be easily compared.

Dryden city council has six months to decide if it wants to accept the OPP costing.