Across the province, municipalities are at various stages of the budget process. For some, the process is complete and, for others, the process is only beginning.
What remains consistent is that whether the municipality has its own police service, like Toronto, is part of a regional service, like Mississauga or uses the Ontario Provincial Police, like Thunder Bay, the cost of policing and the rising cost of police service is a growing concern; in particular, the costs related to contract settlements.
This recent story in the Globe and Mail provides some background on the issue and an introduction to another issue we are certain to hear more about in the future – the recent Ontario Provincial Police contract settlement and the “Number 1” clause.
