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The Citizen, 2003-05-28, Page 28PAGE 28. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2003. HE council gets info on policing contract By David Blaney Special to The Citizen At the May 20 Huron East council meeting councillors got their chance to directly question members of the OPP about the municipality’s policing contract. The area’s acting detachment commander inspector Sean Johnson, Sgt. Brad Sadler the OPP liaison to the local police services board and two officers responsible for contracts had been invited to attend in an attempt to resolve an on­ going dispute concerning the apportionment of policing costs. Mayor Lin Steffler began the session by saying that council was under the impression that hybrid policing was possible. Sgt. Dewait, who is responsible for contracts in southwestern Ontario, replied that this was not the case. He said the legislation, which allowed situations such as North Huron's use of both the OPP, and the Wingham police force was, “intended for the purposes of municipal and OPP forces.” He continued, “The intent was two different forces not two different levels of service (from the OPP).” ^he next problem arose over whether Huron East was receiving ‘enhanced’ service from their contract. Up until now council had always referred to the contract in this manner and they were visibly surprised to be told by Dewait that this was not the case. He informed them that what they had was ‘integrated’ service. Deputy-Mayor Bernie MacLellan responded, “My understanding was that we had two choices, enhanced or’5.1 (a general level of policing provided when there is no contract.) It may have been built on what the ward of Seaforth had but not what the other wards had.” A general discussion occurred as all those involved tried to discover the differences between service levels offered by various types of policing. Eventually it was determined that 5.1 provides the level of service that was guaranteed by law across the province. Contract policing allowed a municipality to receive a guarantee of a certain number of officers. In addition contact policing allows the municipality to have a police services board and access to a large number of statistics for decision making. Most importantly it provides a cap on costs, which is not available from 5.1. The cost of non-contract or 5.1 service is based on the calls occurring across the whole municipality according to Dewait. He added, “These costs are not fixed, in the sense that your costs may be subject to other municipalities (with 5.1) on a percentage basis.” This apparently means that even if a municipality has no increase in calls for service, their costs as a percentage of the total costs might increase if other municipalities see a reduction in calls. Councillors briefly returned to the subject ol dividing the costs oi policing, with Councillor Dick Burgess ascertaining that the current contract did not specify a higher level of service in Seaforth and Councillor Bill DeJong getting Dewait to agree that because officers spend time in the Seaforth office “they would certainly be more available” for calls in Seaforth. In the end council was left with the two certainties they possessed at the beginning of the meeting. It is up to council to determine the division of policing costs and the Ontario Minister of Revenue wants a cheque for a little more than $1,000,000 to pay the bill. Gold standard smoking bylaws increase in Ontario World No Tobacco Day is on May 31 and the Ontario Tobacco-Free Network’s Gold Standard Smoke- Free Bylaws Map continues to impact communities across Ontario. More and more municipalities are urging their municipal councillors to “Go For Gold: Become 100 per cent Smoke-Free” by implementing the most effective smoke-free bylaw that requires all public places in their region to be 100 per cent smoke- free. There is no option for designated smoking-rooms and the onus to enforce the bylaw is on the proprietor. To view a copy of the map. visit www.theotn.org and click on Go For Gold. Many municipalities across the province such as Chatham-Kent, Grey County, Waterloo Region, and Collingwood have a Gold Standard bylaw. The bylaw provides full protection from second-hand smoke by banning smoking in public places, including restaurants, bars, and'tavems. Many more are currently under development?- .as numerous public health units have been directed by their municipal councillors to work towards smoke-free bylaws in their communities. In Huron County, on May 8, county councillors voted 15- three in favour of a 100 per cent smoke free bylaw for public places and workplaces that would come into effect in one year. The next step is for the nine lower- tier municipalities to decide whether or not to vote in favour of this smoke-free bylaw for the county. “The list of Gold Standard bylaws continues to grow at an incredible rate. Municipalities in Ontario are making secondhand smoke a public health priority,” says Sandra Feltz of the Coalition for a Smoke- Free Huron-Perth. “These bylaws protect Check out The Citizen's WEBSITE at www.northhuron.on.ca for a cleaner environment citizens, particularly workers and young children, from the serious health hazards of tobacco smoke in public places.” One hundred per cent smoke-free bylaws are critical to protect the public from the dangers of secondhand smoke; secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of Steiner Demo Day Saturday, May 31 s* 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Radford Pond Located Hwy #4, one mile south of Blyth Celebrate the Opening of our Sales & Service Agency Ride, Drive & Experience Steiner Turf & Homeowner Equipment Meet our sales people & service support staff Sponsored by Radford Auto, Farm & Industrial Parts ~ Blyth ptiz®® \ & J Harkness Equipment ~ Harriston ‘— 1O’A Discount on all Steiner Parts ordered that day preventable death. Those who smoke O’" who are exposed to second-hand smoke are at an increased risk of developing cancer, heart disease, stroke and respiratory infections such as colds, bronchitis or pneumonia. In children, secondhand smoke can cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (crib death), ear infections, asthma, and respiratory tract infections. World No Tobacco Day is celebrated around the world every year on May 31. The World Health Organization (WHO) created World No Tobacco Day in 1987 to draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes. This yearly celebration informs the public ol the dangers ot tobacco use, and motivates people around the world to claim their right to health and to protect future generations from the harmful effects of tobacco use. www.pitch-in.ca/TenTips.htm ~ Proceeds to Bly th Greenway Trail ~ r