Deep River, Ont. mayor disappointed town will not receive government funding to cover policing costs

Calls for financial backup Eastern Ontario mayors want province to address rising policing costs, after giving cash to towns that use OPP. CTV's Dylan Dyson reports.

Several municipalities in Ontario will not be receiving a subsidy from the provincial government to help cover increasing costs for the Ontario Provincial Police in 2025.

As reported by CTV News, municipalities patrolled by OPP are facing significant budget increases for policing services beginning next year, resulting in steep tax hikes for residents.

In November, the provincial government announced it would be offering $77 million to the 330 municipalities serviced by the OPP to help offset the increase, a subsidy that averages about $233,000 per town.

But that subsidy is not being extended to municipalities that operate local police services such as Deep River, Smiths Falls, Gananoque or Belleville.

Deep River Mayor Suzanne D'Eon says her municipality's police budget has steadily risen in recent years, in contrast to the OPP's one-time increase coming in 2025.

She's frustrated her municipality is being left out of the subsidy, saying her residents are provincial taxpayers who expect the same provincial relief.

"Having the province provide a further 10 per cent subsidy for the 2025 costs of policing only to OPP served communities and exclude small communities like ours with their own police service is a kick in the teeth. It's not fair and it's not sustainable," D'Eon said in a statement.

D'Eon's statement is one that has echoed across eastern Ontario, with mayors Shawn Pankow of Smiths Falls and Neil Ellis of Belleville calling on the province to accommodate their municipalities as well.

"I really don't think it's equitable," Ellis said in an interview with CTV News. "All police budgets are up across Ontario."

"Our [police] budget has been double digits," he says, referring to the increase Belleville is seeing this year. This will be the third year in double digits. This was the highest budget we've ever had in the history of policing."

In Smiths Falls, the policing budget going up 21 percent heading into 2025. Mayor Shawn Pankow says the increase is directly tied to that of the OPP's.

"The significant increase that the OPP was able to receive, this translates into a big increase for our service as well, which then further translates into a significant budgetary impact for the 2025 year and one that we've never experienced before," Pankow said.

"Over time, if this type of treatment is consistent, it's almost telling us that, look, if you're policed by the OPP, you'll get more support for the province, and that's really not fair,.

D'Eon says Deep River explored the possibility of transitioning fully to an OPP model but residents expressed strong interest to retain their local force.

"If the province wants all communities to go to OPP policing, they should just say so and shut down our local force. Quite frankly that's the signal I am getting from the province right now," said D'Eon.

"We are a small urban municipality and community policing is very important to our residents. They value our municipal police service and they pay the full cost of it."