Members of Stirling-Rawdon council listen to OPP costing proposal Monday, January 23/2017. From left to right: Dean Graff,Bob Mullin, Mayor Rodney Cooney, Grant Hagerman, Jeremy Solmes.(Photo/Quinte News).
It’s taken two years, but Stirling-Rawdon council has received an initial costing from the Ontario Provincial Police to provide police service in the community, replacing the current municipal police force.
Mayor of Stirling-Rawdon, Rodney Cooney, has long been on record as saying the municipality is strapped for cash and needs to find ways to cut costs.
He has called the current police service, featuring 9 uniformed officers and one civilian, a “bit of a Cadillac”.
The OPP believes Stirling-Rawdon should be policed by expanding the Central Hastings detachment. Under the costing, the OPP would have no use for the current municipal police station.
Central Hastings OPP detachment Commander Staff Sergeant Scott Semple speaking at Stirling-Rawdon council Monday, January 23, 2017.(Photo/Quinte News).
To sum up, the OPP would police Stirling-Rawdon for $1,564,225.00 a year plus initial start-up costs of just over $217,000.00 for a total of $1,781,240.00 in the first year.
Initial costs include purchasing 3 new police cruisers, 9 new firearms, uniforms, and a host of other items
The 2016 Stirling-Rawdon police budget is around $1.8 million, and this year’s budget should be higher than that if average increases of around 10% a year continue. The 2017 police budget has not yet been set.
The OPP costing formula for expanding service into Stirling-Rawdon covers 9.2 uniformed officers plus part of administration cost for the detachment for a total of 9.8 full time equivalents.
At the end of the presentation, Mayor Rodney Cooney said the proposal would go to a committee studying policing for recommendations, and then a public meeting would be held on the issue.
Mayor Cooney stressed that it was highly unlikely that the final OPP cost would be anywhere near the almost $1.8 million presented last night.
He said Marmora and Lake was almost a “twin” of Stirling-Rawdon in population and rural/urban make-up and that it was paying slightly under $900,000.00 for OPP policing.
