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Orangeville sees savings in policing costs starting next year

November 30, 2023   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Orangeville will soon begin to realize significant savings in policing costs.

Town council and the public got the first look at the municipal 2024 capital and operating budget on Nov. 27. Next year will be the first year following a three-year transition period after the former Orangeville Police Service was replaced with the Ontario Provincial Police in town.

Contributors to the cost of transitioning to the OPP included severances to OPS staff and upgrades to the police station on C Line. The OPP costing requested by the council of the day included a three-year transition period.

That period ends this year and marks the start of a new police billing model.

The new contract pricing model with the OPP will generate annual savings of as much as $4 million. These anticipated savings have allowed the Town of Orangeville to recalibrate existing funding and cost structures within the budget. 

“We’re using savings to bring our transfer to long-term infrastructure reserves back on track, and reduce our reliance on non-sustainable funding sources,” said Patrick Kelly, the town’s treasurer. “This budget and the recalibration within it are steps in the right direction towards long term fiscal sustainability.”

One of the main drivers in the 2024 capital and operating budget will be inflation. But the savings realized from disbanding the former OPS and bringing in the OPP will also be a factor in next year’s spending plan.

“The main drivers in this year’s budget obviously will be inflation,” Kelly said. “But the largest piece of the pie is what we’re bringing forward, we’re referring to as a recalibration of the town’s long-term operating and capital plans.

“The savings generated through the OPP contract provide an opportunity to right-size the town’s budget and prepare for the future.”

The new contract billing model means a reduction from the $8.3 million transition costs to $4.3 million in 2024. That’s almost 48 per cent less in policing costs.

“It is a significant outcome for the town,” Kelly said.

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