Rising OPP costs force small municipalities to consider tax increases

Ontario Provincial Police aren’t immune to rising costs, which translates into a sticker price for municipalities, which directly impacts every taxpaying citizen.

Midland Mayor Bill Gordon didn’t mince words about the subject. “The cost of policing is just absolutely crushing small municipalities across Ontario.”

OPP’s budgets have skyrocketed, in part, because of a new policing contract and a return to pre-pandemic levels of calls for service.

Midland’s mayor said the situation is particularly challenging.

“An increase of 26 per cent in one year, which is a million dollars for us, is just something we never could have projected,” Gordon added.

The jump in costs puts a chilling effect on budgetary talks before they even begin.

A 26 per cent increase equates to a roughly four per cent tax hike in Midland, and that’s before any other factors are added into the equation.

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The town is also facing a six per cent tax increase due to planned infrastructure upgrades, which makes service cuts almost inevitable.

“I can get $1.1 million off the books right now if we close down the transit system, which we share with our Penetanguishene partners if they wanted to save money too, because, again, we lost money every year on transit,” Gordon said.

In Collingwood, the town is facing a 40 per cent increase in its OPP bill, or a seven per cent tax hike, which Mayor Yvonne Hamlin called shocking.

Like Midland, Collingwood officials will have to make difficult decisions, though Hamlin admitted it’s too early to say what those cuts might look like.

“Are we cutting the level of service? How often are we collecting garbage in parks? There’s a whole range of things where we have levels of service. I honestly don’t know. There are certain things we can’t put off,” the Collingwood mayor said.

And other OPP-policed municipalities are in similar positions.

Wasaga Beach is projecting an increase of over $1.2 million in its OPP budget, Clearview Township says its bill is up 23 per cent, and Tay Township reports a nearly 21 per cent rise.

As towns face these rising costs, officials encourage resident participation during budgetary time, saying it’s more crucial than ever to help them make the best decisions moving forward.