In a heated meeting that went late into the night on Wednesday, Midland Council voted 6-3 in favour of disbanding the local police service and switching to the Ontario Provincial Police.
The Midland police service will now be disbanded and policing will be integrated into Southern Georgian Bay OPP, which also serves TayTownship, TinyTownship, and Penetanguishene.
OPP plans to use existing police facilities in the town and will commit four more front-line officers to the area. Members currently employed by the Midland Police service will be given the opportunity to join the OPP, including the Midland Police Chief and the Midland Police Inspector.
“I think we’ve served this community with distinction for over 125 years so there’s always that emotion,” said Midland Police chief Michael Osborne. “You always want to continue to serve your community and do what’s best for them, but the OPP will do a great job as well and I’m hoping as many of our staff as possible can obtain employment with them.”
Disbanding the Midland Police Service and starting-up the OPP is expected to cost more than three million dollars. However, a town staff report says Midland will save six million dollars over a ten year period. The savings won’t be realized until 2021.
Midland Mayor Gord McKay says he supported the change because of the cost savings.
“Going with the OPP gives us nearly a million dollars a year over what it would cost with the Midland Police Service,” he says. “That’s a significant amount of change.”
A firm date for the transition period to begin has not been set, but it could start as early as January 2018. The transition is expected to take three years.
