Rural politicians relieved over $77M funding to cover spiking police costs

LONDON – Queen's Park is doling out $77-million to help ease the sticker shock in municipalities provincewide that are facing big increases in the cost to have Ontario Provincial Police patrol their communities.

Premier Doug Ford's government announced the money on Friday to offset the bill municipal governments will face as OPP costs increase. Several London-area local governments have been bracing for the uptick.

“This investment will help these predominantly small and rural communities address the budget impacts resulting from the collective bargaining agreement that was reached between the province and the Ontario Provincial Police Association in July 2024,” a Queen's Park statement read.

The Ford government’s funding announcement comes as welcome news to municipal politicians who were facing inflated 2025 budgets — and tax hikes for property owners — due to the OPP's bills.

“It's great that the government has moved on the concerns of the municipalities they've addressed,” said Lucan-Biddulph Mayor Cathy Burghardt-Jesson. “(I’m) looking forward to hearing more.”

Lucan-Biddulph, a community about 30 kilometres north of London, is facing double the expected property tax hike, with an additional 2.2 percentage point increase in 2025 as a result of the OPP bill, without the provincial government’s funding.

“The financial relief we are proposing will help municipal leaders balance their budgets and invest in their communities while ensuring no change to the policing provided by the OPP that keeps families and businesses safe,” Solicitor General Michael Kerzner said in a statement.

Like other municipal leaders, Central Elgin Mayor Andrew Sloan said he was caught off-guard by the OPP’s increased costs.

“To say it was a shock would be somewhat of an understatement,” Sloan said, adding he understands costs are going up, but expressed his discontent at an increase of “essentially 30 per cent” as a heavy burden for taxpayers.

Although budget talks have just gotten underway in Central Elgin — a municipality about 35 kilometres southwest of London near St. Thomas — Sloan said without the Queen's Park cash, the municipality’s tax increase would be starting at 4.1 per cent "out of the gate without touching a thing."

Added Sloan: “I wanted to make sure the government knew the stress that would put on the local ratepayer."

The OPP provides municipal policing services to 330 municipalities across Ontario.

Brian Williams is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with the London Free Press.