By Cecilia Nasmith/Northumberland 89.7 FM/Today’s Northumberland
The Cobourg Police Service Board made clear at its December meeting that it is on board with the Ontario Association of Police Service Boards concerns about $77-million in new provincial money that is strictly for municipalities policed by the OPP.
The OAPSB said bypassing the remaining small and mid-sized municipal police service board “may unintentionally exacerbate existing challenges related to budget planning and the demands of providing adequate and effective policing services under the Community Safety and Policing Act.”
Board members were grateful for the organization’s prompt action on this matter.
“I wondered if it would be an idea for our board to continue to advocate going into this calendar year to the OAPSB to look at augmentation for the public, given the $77-million that went into the OPP,” Sean Graham added.
“Maybe having someone from the board or the board in general monitoring this – for Cobourg in particular, but also municipal boards across the province.”
“We should communicate with our (Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini) on behalf of the board for the province to recognize municipal PSBs like ours, like they have the OPP boards. Why not go directly to our MPP?” Dean Pepper suggested.
With municipal police-service boards are facing significant budget increases and shortfalls, Graham agreed, “we should definitely keep this front and centre.”
