CORNWALL – SDG Counties municipal officials were expressing sticker shock for police services at the October 21 council meeting. Earlier in the month, the 2025 annual billing statement package was received by SDG Police Services Board from the Ontario Provincial Police. That bill amounts to a 13.2 per cent increase in 2025 over the statement from 2024. Also included in that bill is an adjustment for the end of 2023 totalling another $719,316.
In a report to council, staff say that annual billing costs have increased by over $2 million, or 20.4 per cent. The impact of the billing increase has already been estimated to tack on a 2.4 per cent property tax increase – and SDG Counties has not even begun its budget deliberations for next year.
Council heard that the 2023 adjustment was due to increased use of services compared to what was estimated. Counties Chief Administrative Officer Maureen Adams told council to expect future increases in that adjustment for the 2024 in 2026.
“I anticipate we’re going to see a similar deficit for 2024, because the budgets haven’t really changed,” Adams cautioned.
Warden Jamie MacDonald explained that municipalities have no say in the budget of the the OPP.
“We’re very much kept in the dark about these kinds of things,” the Warden said.
While a 13 per cent increase is steep in SDG Counties, it is not as significant as some municipalities elsewhere in Ontario face. The Municipality of Brockton will see policing costs increase by over $757,000 (29.8 per cent). In Wellington County, its 2025 costs increase by 18.4 per cent to $20,375,886.
Councillor Steve Densham (North Stormont) questioned what the budget increases were caused by.
OPP billing from the province does not cover the entire operation of a detachment. Municipalities are billed for police services provided locally that are not part of provincial operations.
As residential development in areas like South Stormont, North Dundas, and South Glengarry continue to grow, the number of residences used to calculate the base rate increases.
A majority of the remaining local billing is based on average number of calls, sorted by type, and a base rate per household. In SDG Counties, calls for service numbers have been on a rise over a three year period. This includes calls relating to sexual assault, uttering threats, indecent or harassing communication, extortion, assault with a weapon, and an increased number of mental health-related calls. The only large decrease that offset some of the increase in calls for service is in the traffic category, where there was a year-over-year decrease of 27 per cent.
Adding to the increased costs are wage increases for uniform and civilian staff. The OPP are entering the final year of their three year labour agreement that resulted in a 4.75 per cent wage increase in 2023, 4.5 per cent in 2024, and will see wages rise by 2.75 per cent next year.
Councillor Lachlan McDonald (South Glengarry) asked if the Counties could look at the Cornwall Police Service as an alternative to the OPP.
“It’s something that should be at least minorly [sic] investigated,” he said. “I’m satisfied with the OPP, they do a good job. I imagine the City of Cornwall also does a good job.”
He asked if having two providers, whether a regional approach might be better.
Warden MacDonald said that it had been considered before by Cornwall’s council to look at pricing from the OPP, but that was abandoned quickly.
“They declined to get a pricing from the OPP and stick with what they have,” he explained.
SDG Counties will begin its 2025 budget deliberations in early December.