Clinton News Record, 2014-02-19, Page 5letter to the editor
This town's
generosity keeps
our doors open
To the editor:
Thank you Huron County! Once
again our County has been over-
whelmingly supportive of efforts to
improve the lives of people living
with dementia in our communi-
ties. We owe a debt of gratitude to
this wonderful giving community,
and literally would not be able to
keep our doors open at the Alzhe-
imer Society of Huron County if it
weren't for the help and support of
people who support Walk for
Memories. Despite the wild
weather interruptions the Walk for
Memories, presented by Investors
Group and Goderich Place Retire-
ment Residence, went ahead on its
re -scheduled date of February 1st
where walkers braved the cold to
attend the indoor walks. Thanks to
the incredible generosity more
than $45,000 has been raised to
date and we are so grateful for all
the support towards our goal.
Online donations will be accepted
until the end of February 2014 at
www.alzheimer.ca/huroncounty.
If you were unable to attend the re-
scheduled Walk please get in
touch with the office (519) 482-
1482 and we can provide you with
a "Walk in a Box" kit so that you
can hold your own walk for family
and friends. Or, if you've collected
pledges and would like to have
them included with this years col-
lection please mail to the office,
Alzheimer Society of Huron
County, PO Box 639, 317 Huron
Rd, Clinton ON, NOM 1LO, all con-
tributions are appreciated. With-
out the loyal support of our com-
mitted volunteers, valued
sponsors, and exceptional efforts
of each and every walker and the
generosity of Huron County, the
success of Walk for Memories
would not be possible. Huron
County is a tremendous, caring
community and I'm so proud to
call it home.
Sincerely,
Brittany Williams
Events Coordinator
Alzheimer Society of Huron County
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Wednesday, February 19, 2014 • News Record 5
Five things you should know
about the new OPP contract
In this article, the
Commander of the OPP's
Municipal Police Bureau
addresses some
misconceptions and
misunderstandings about how
the OPP polices municipalities
both under contract and non-
contract basis and recovers
the costs.
There is currently a healthy
and important debate
underway about the cost of
policing in Ontario and future
sustainability. Part of that
discussion involves how the
Ontario Provincial Police
(OPP) delivers police services
to 324 municipalities and our
current billing model, which is
under review. In the interest of
contributing to informed
debate, here are five things
everyone who lives in an OPP-
policed municipality should
know.
• All municipalities must
provide policing services to
their constituents. They can do
this in a several ways. Just one
of these is contracting services
from the OPP under Section
10 of the Police Services Act
(PSA). A municipality may
also: establish a police service;
enter into an agreement with
one or more other municipal
councils to constitute a joint
police service board; enter
into an agreement with one or
more councils to amalgamate
their police services; or
contract services from an
adjacent police service (a
police service that shares a
political boundary with the
contracting municipality).
If none of these choices are
exercised, policing services
are provided by default by the
OPP under Section 5.1 of the
PSA. Municipalities have these
policing choices and many
decide on the OPP for a variety
of good reasons. I am pleased
to report that OPP-policed
communities report a high
level of satisfaction
with our services.
• Provincial
regulations
require the
full and fair
cost recovery
from
municipalities for
OPP services. The
OPP and the Ministry
of Community Safety
and Correctional Services
are in the midst of a Billing
Model Review that will result
in a fairer, more transparent
and less complex process -
something many
municipalities have
demanded. The total revenues
recovered under the new
model will still be solely cost
recovery, but some
municipalities will pay more
and some will pay less.
• The Provincial Auditor
General has also
recommended that the
Ontario Provincial Police
should simplify its costing and
billing methods.
He also said the OPP should
make the billing and costing
methods more transparent
and "address the issues that
result in municipalities paying
different rates" (2012
Provincial Audit). In 2015,
under the proposed billing
model an estimated base cost
per household of $260 would
be charged along with a cost
for Calls for Service. OPP-
policed municipalities that
currently pay lower than $300
per household should see
their policing costs rise;
municipalities that currently
pay more than $400 per
household should see
their policing
costs drop.
Let's be
honest,
some
municipalities
have enjoyed
unrealistically low
policing costs with
the OPP for many
years, while others have
paid much higher per
household due to a complex
billing process. Addressing
this discrepancy is the right
thing to do, although we
acknowledge that the
transition for the
municipalities who will
experience rising costs will be
difficult. The Ontario
government is considering
ways to lessen the financial
impact during the transition to
a new billing model.
• The OPP Cost Recovery
Formula resulted in a
reduction of one per cent in
billing for direct operating
expenses (gas, uniforms,
computers, etc.) from 2010 to
2013. This was a significant
accomplishment compared to
other police services which
are also struggling with rising
costs in a time of restraint. I
must acknowledge that
uniform salaries, which are
not part of the Cost Recovery
Formula, are 80 to 85 per cent
of the overall costs charged to
OPP-policed municipalities.
After two years without
receiving a general increase in
wages (2012, 2013), OPP
officers received an increase
of 8.55 per cent in 2014 to raise
the salary of an OPP Provincial
Constable to be equal to that
of the highest paid police
service in the province. The
OPP will have to recover these
costs in the municipalities it
polices.
• Regardless of any changes
to billing and the wage raise in
2014, the OPP remains the
most cost-effective policing
option for many
municipalities in Ontario. OPP
costs, on average, are less than
half of the average cost of
municipal police services in
the province (based on OPP
and Ministry of Finance data).
While the per household cost
of policing can vary widely
under the current billing
model, our low per household
cost average tells us that the
OPP is doing a really good job
of being cost-effective and
efficient.
The men and the women of
the OPP are dedicated
professionals who provide a
wide range of policing services
to Ontario's communities. We
continue to work hard each
and every day to keep the trust
and confidence of the people
of this province. We look
forward to continuing to work
with all of our partners to
ensure a safe and secure
Ontario.
Superintendent Rick Philbin,
OPP
CORRECTION NOTICE
In the story Bees overworked, underfed in North America (page 8, Feb. 12), the following corrections need to be made: France is the only country to have
banned neonicotinoids (a ban failed to get a majority at the EU in September), and the pesticide is not applied again in the early stages of plant development.
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