
June 9, 2017 · 0 Comments
AS WE SEE IT, there’s no doubt that the Town of Orangeville will eventually save about $4.5 million annually under terms of a contract proposed by the Ontario Provincial Police.
However, there is more than a little doubt about the extent of savings beyond the life of the contract, since there has never been any explanation thus far as to where the savings originated.
All we know is that the only staff reductions will be among current civilian employees of the Orangeville Police Service, and even there we have no explanation as to how their work will be performed and by whom; someone in India?
Given that OPP officers will get at least as much pay and perhaps better benefits than those currently enjoyed by OPS officers, we’re left wondering both where the millions of dollars of savings are coming from and how long they will last.
If, as we suspect, most, if not all, of the $4.5 million is coming from Ontario taxpayers in the form of government subsidization of municipal policing by the OPP, the savings could disappear overnight as the result of a change in government policy or the election of a new government intent on cutting its spending.
Food for thought.