Shelburne Deputy Mayor looking forward to ‘apples to apples’ comparison of police forces

Written By PAULA BROWN

Shelburne council members are preparing for a second OPP costing presentation.

Council members made a unanimous decision back in July 2019 to keep the local Shelburne Police Service, which has served the community since 1879. With the decision by Orangeville Council to disband the Orangeville Police Services (OPS) in December 2019, costing concerns in keeping the local force became apparent. 

“We weren't aware that the Shelburne Police Department, as it stood, was not self-sufficient. It wasn't presented to us,” said Coun. Kyle Fegan. “We weren't aware of how reliant on Orangevilleour Police Department was, and that was a big problem.” 

An agreement between OPS and Shelburne Police Services (SPS) saw Orangeville handling dispatch services, court duties and transfers of individuals when holding cells were full in Shelburne. The Town's need for new hires to fill the gap left behind with the  impending Orangeville disbandment included two staff sergeants, an inspector, and a special constable, who would carry out court duties, dispatch and other services. An approximate annual cost of $925,000 to fill the service gap would see Shelburne's yearly police budget jump to around $3.8 million. 

In the last proposal presented by OPP to Shelburne Council in January of 2019, it showed a projected cost of $3.1 million in the first year of an initial three-year transition contract. A breakdown of the costs for the first year would be $2.68 million for OPP services, plus a start-up charge of $414,000 for vehicles, uniform and equipment. For the second and third year the cost would revert back to $2.68 million.

After those three years, annual costs would be determined by data gathered by OPP over the course of the three year transitional contract. 

Now moving forward into the second presentation Fegan says that the most important part in the decision in whether the town will vote to keep SPS, or make the change to OPP, is fiscal responsibility.  

That was a sentiment shared by Deputy Mayor Steve Anderson, who this week informed the Citizen he was looking forward to seeing more of a “apples to apples” comparison between the Shelburne Police Service and OPP. 

“We know with the additional information that the cost has gone up quite a bit. Let the OPP come back, provide them with the information that they didn't have the first time and let's see comparing apples to apples, now on a level playing field, with all the information out there, what is the best move to make,” said Deputy Mayor Steve Anderson.  

Council members will have six months to respond to the proposal by OPP, which will be presented on Monday (June 22).