FORT FRANCES — Following the intervention of the Ontario Government, the mayor of Fort Frances is pleased the town will have some breathing room when it comes to paying for police services for the next year.
Municipalities across the province that are serviced by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were shaken this fall and winter as their service bills came up ahead of budget talks for 2025. In many cases for small and rural communities in the province, Fort Frances included, councils were met with a marked increase in costs compared to previous years, as a new agreement reached between the province and the Ontario Provincial Police Association (OPPA) saw salary increases retroactive to 2023. The increase came following the repeal of Bill 124, which had capped the wages for the public sector, including police.
According to Fort Frances mayor Andrew Hallikas, the increased policing bill facing the town would have had a significant impact on the town's finances going forward.
“The invoice for OPP billing for 2025 would have increased the cost per property in the Town of Fort Frances to almost double the provincial average,” Hallikas said.
“It was forecasted to rise to $657 per household while the provincial average is $347 per household. This was due to an increase of nearly $600,000 over the previous year. These increases are simply not sustainable.”
In response to outcry from the municipalities, the provincial government announced it would offset these increased costs by providing more than $77 million in financial relief, targeting reconciled costs from 2023 and implementing a 10 percent bill reduction on amounts invoiced for 2025. Hallikas said the government's intervention means the town will have a bit of wiggle room for next year's budget.
“These changes will reduce the 2025 OPP billing to the Town of Fort Frances by approximately $505,000, providing much needed financial relief, for this year,” he said.
“This will reduce the amount of the 2025 invoice from $3,431,494 to $2,925,972.”
Hallikas noted the town has repeatedly lobbied the province and Solicitor General to change the funding formula it uses to charge for policing in small and rural communities. While he said he applauds the government for stepping in to help, he still wants to see changes to the overall funding model to prevent small and rural towns from having to bear the brunt of ever increasing police costs.
“The Town of Fort Frances applauds the recent announcement by the Solicitor General to provide additional provincial support for municipalities by proposing billing changes,” he said.
“We are grateful to the province for this initiative and pleased that the municipalities of Ontario have been heard regarding OPP billing. However, this initiative only provides relief for one year, the Ontario Government must come up with a permanent solution going forward.”
Fort Frances Times / Local Journalism Initiative
