The budget for the board of governors for OPP policing in Prescott-Russell is up for approval and one Champlain Township councillor wonders if his municipality’s share of that cost is correct.
“Are we paying our fair share or more than our fair share?” said Councillor Peter Barton, during the September 26 session of Champlain Township council.
Barton and the rest of council reviewed a brief from the Hawkesbury OPP Detachment Board concerning its proposed 2025 operating budget.
The Hawkesbury OPP detachment provides policing services for Hawkesbury, East Hawkesbury Township, Champlain Township, Alfred-Plantagenet Township, and for part of The Nation Municipality. The other part of The Nation gets its police protection from the Russell OPP detachment.
The Hawkesbury OPP Detachment Board was set up under the guidelines of the Ontario Community Safety and Policing Act to guide overall management of the detachment’s operations. The board includes representatives for the five municipalities the detachment serves and also representatives for the OPP and other interest groups.
The 2025 Hawkesbury OPP Detachment Board budget includes $173,319 in total revenue from various provincial policing and community safety grant programs. Projected operating expenses for the board for 2025 are $224,819. That leaves $51,500 in shared expenses for the five municipalities to cover through their own 2025 budget plans. The shares for each member municipality are calculated based on the total number of households and occupied commercial and industrial properties within their areas that are under the Hawkesbury OPP detachment’s jurisdiction.
Champlain Township council voted to join Hawkesbury and East Hawkesbury in approving the proposed 2025 budget for the Hawkesbury OPP Detachment Board. Approval is still pending from Alfred-Plantagenet Township and The Nation Municipality.
