Mayors want 'parity' for local police after province's OPP relief funding

Recent provincial funding to help cover policing costs has left municipalities with their own police forces searching for financial support, eastern Ontario mayors say.

"We are just as in need as the OPP-policed communities," said Smiths Falls Mayor Shawn Pankow.

Last month, mayors in communities that contract policing to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) called on the province for financial help after unexpected increases in their 2025 policing bills.

In many cases, the year-over-year increase in OPP billing was between 20 and 30 per cent and would have required a significant hike in property taxes to pay for it.

In response, the provincial government announced $77 million to ease policing costs in those communities — much to the relief of cash-strapped municipal councils.

• Municipalities prepare tax hikes after OPP 'sticker shock'
• Relief coming for Ontario municipalities facing major OPP bill hike

But now, some mayors in cities and towns that operate their own police forces say OPP cost increases are affecting them too, and they don't have any provincial support to show for it.

Pankow, who also chairs the Smiths Falls Police Services Board, said he was initially encouraged by the provincial funding.

"Until the reality that, at this point, we are not included," he said.

Salaries tied to OPP

The increase in OPP billing was mostly due to a new contract signed over the summer between the province and the union representing provincial police officers. The OPP is now the highest-paid police force in the province, according to its union.

In Smiths Falls, a town of about 10,000 residents, police salaries are tied directly to those of the OPP, guaranteeing officers there earn 98 per cent of an OPP salary.

Even in places where officer contracts aren't explicitly linked to the provincial police, pay in neighbouring services "still sets a benchmark," Pankow said.

The resulting salary bump for officers in Smiths Falls — combined with an existing commitment to hire new officers in 2025 — means the town's police budget is set for an increase of 21 per cent next year.

Council is now debating a property tax increase of about 10 per cent, of which six per cent will go directly toward covering new policing costs.

It's the first time in my 10 years as mayor that we're facing anything like this.- Smiths Falls Mayor Shawn Pankow

"It certainly was bigger than I forecasted," Pankow said. "It's the first time in my 10 years as mayor that we're facing anything like this."

Although the increase may seem large, he cautioned, it aligns with what many OPP-policed municipalities faced — at least before their costs were offset by provincial aid.

"When they're compensating OPP-policed municipalities, really, for the impact of that [contract] settlement, we need to be included in that, too," Pankow said.

His ask is simple: "Parity."

"If it's providing two or three percentage points of relief … then I think we should be receiving the same," he said.

'Poaching' officers

For years, Pankow said, the town's police board has managed to hold its budget increases below the rate of inflation. Such a significant spike from this year to next is "probably a one-time catch-up," he added.

But in a province where the practice of "poaching" officers between services is commonplace, he said the catch-up is needed.

"We want to make sure we're an employer of choice," he said. "We need to keep our personnel happy, keeping morale up."

Smiths Falls police Chief Jodi Empey said the situation is made all the more challenging by lower recruitment numbers than she "has personally ever seen."

For jobs that would previously have drawn 200 applicants, Empey said, the service is lucky to receive 30 resumés.

The province's new Community Safety and Policing Act is placing further financial pressure on local forces, adding new training and equipment requirements for officers.

Empey said she wasn't surprised when the province announced relief money for OPP-policed communities, and she remains hopeful financial help will soon come to municipalities in a similar position to Smiths Falls.

"We just want to be on the same level as other municipalities," she said.

The police board in Smiths Falls is just one of many across the province "looking for relief," said Paul Pedersen, executive director of the Association of Ontario Police Chiefs.

Pedersen said police chiefs are thankful the provincial government was able to support OPP-policed communities, but added he's working to "find sustainable, long-term funding solutions" for others.

CBC reached out to the office of Ontario's solicitor general but did not receive a response before deadline.

'The chickens are coming home to roost'

As municipalities across the province work through the 2025 budget season, councils say they're having a tough time balancing their budgets.

For years, many municipal councils had deferred infrastructure and maintenance costs in favour of lower taxes, according to Zach Spicer, a public policy professor at York University.

"You see a lot of councils now where the chickens are coming home to roost," he said.

Spicer said now, in the the middle of Ontario's municipal election cycle, is when he would expect to see "political budgeting," where councillors take a "bit of a political hit" knowing they're not facing voters for another two years.

Regardless, he said, many municipal staff and politicians will have done their best to keep taxes as low as possible.

"Taxpayers need to understand that these are necessary expenses," he said.