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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2018-05-17, Page 18PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2018. Council made `emotional decision' on policing: Seip Continued from page 17 the OPP costing prepared by the service earlier this year as well. "I believe it's important for [council] to see it again," he said. "They have to decide whether they want to change their mind. All I can say is that's not going to happen this year. It's not going to happen next year. We're going to have to go back into the pool and go through the process. I doubt [the OPP] will dust off the costing information and say, 'Here you go." Gregoriadis said he didn't see a point to including the OPP costing. "[Council members] are fully aware of what they chose and we have been given direction as a police board to go ahead with the local police force," he said. "This is the number we've come up with. Personally, I think we've been running the police fairly lean with the resources. I don't want to say the officers are under -resourced, but we run it very lean. We could easily come back with a higher number [by] tacking on $100,000 for resources" He said he was happy presenting the $1.3 million option Poole suggested, but again suggested Seip not bother trying to remind councillors of the decision they made. Seip said that dropping the budget 17 per cent wouldn't drop taxes for the Wingham ward 17 per cent and would only result in a higher budget in 2019. He forecast a 2019 budget of $1.9 million factoring in all the salaries, benefits and capital costs. Poole and Seip also spoke to an audit that was done before Poole became chief. The audit, which happened in 2004, said the department could only run with one officer active if they could maintain their response time from off-duty officers. Poole said that wasn't a problem because, at the time, all the officers lived in town, however that isn't the case now. He said the provincial personnel behind the audit said Wingham could not rely on the OPP to help Wingham police officers, something Poole admitted has happened as a result of officers not being available. Seip said it was fortunate another audit hadn't occurred as it could find the department lacking. After discussing the issue further, Seip admitted that he didn't want to bring the budget to the board because he felt it was just delaying the inevitable. He said the budget is going to continue to rise and moving spending from one year to the next wouldn't change what would happen in the next two to five years. The board approved a motion directing Poole to come up with the three-year budget for Seip to present back to the board at its regular meeting on Tuesday, May 15 so Seip could have it to Director of Finance Donna White by the following Friday to make it part of the May 22 North Huron Council agenda. Poole said he could manage having the budget ready, but did say that numbers for 2020 would be "an absolute estimate" because the current salary contract only covers 2018 and 2019. Seip advised Poole to use a two per cent increase in salary for his estimates. Belgrave resident Jim Brown provided comment as did police association representative and Wingham Police Officer Constable Murray Foxton. Seip responded to Brown's assessment of the situation, in which the Belgrave resident said Wingham couldn't afford the department. Seip said he didn't disagree. "This board knows exactly what you're talking about," he said. "The issue is that... council needs to take ownership [of] this decision. The police services board is just giving what was asked for." 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Seip said council made "an emotional decision" instead of using the information provided to it. He also said that council had ample opportunity to review the budget before Monday night's meeting when it was deferred back to the police services board, and individual council members who "chose not to review it or use it" frustrated him as the board now had to bear the burden of trying to save it. Seip further commented that this decision would have minimal impact on the existing council and would instead be something the next session of council, set to be voted in later this year, would have to handle. "That's the crappy part of this deal for a new council," he said. "They're going to have to deal with it." / - COMPLETE MECHANICAL SERVICE - COMPUTERIZED TUNE-UPS - TIRES - BRAKES MUFFLERS - VEHICLE INSPECTION STATION DAN'S AUTO REPAIR Owned and Operated by Dan & Heather Snell RR 3, Blyth, Ont. NOM 1 HO (on the Westfield Rd.) 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