By Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press
Council for the Town of Essex hosted a special meeting on Monday evening, outlining billing models and the process the Town would need to take if it was to look into obtaining a different police service than its current contract with the OPP.
Two motions were presented and carried during the meeting. The first was to send a letter to the Essex County OPP Detachment-North requesting officers be more present in community activities, in addition to more bike, foot, and ATV patrols. The other motion directed Town administration to work with the OPP to evaluate the facility needs within the municipality, with a focus on synergies and improved service delivery to local residents.
The matter goes back to the January 20 Committee of the Whole meeting, where Council discussed OPP policing. At that time, Council requested a special meeting to further discuss the billing model, types of calls, and potential options, Chief Administrative Officer Doug Sweet explained.
Back in 2007, Council of the day voted to create a steering committee to develop and report back to Council on a contract policing cost from the OPP. At that time, it operated a municipal police service. In 2008, Administration at the time outlined why Council was looking at costing from the OPP, one of which was that the cost to provide a municipal policing service had risen significantly.
At the time, Sweet noted Administration projected the cost for municipal police and the OPP from 2009-2013. Over that five-year period, going to OPP was projected to save the Town of Essex around $5M.
Sweet compared the OPP contract actuals to what the projected Essex Police Services could have been, based on inflation. In 2024, the OPP would have cost $2.7M less, and $2.5M less in 2025, he estimated.
That didn’t include capital costs, such as vehicles.
Kate Giurissevich, Director of Corporate Services, walked through the OPP billing model. She explained there is a cost per property. The OPP takes its base cost and divides it across all property accounts that utilize its policing service. Then, they take the per property cost and times it by the number of properties in the jurisdiction.
Billing can fluctuate, based on population. As the population rises, so too will the billing.
The estimated cost for the OPP service in 2025 was $189.44, which was applied to 9,772 properties.
After the base cost, a call for service cost is then applied. That is based on the calls to the jurisdiction, which are then added to the billing statement.
In 2025, the provincial government stepped in, after a drastic increase was noted on the contract renewals. A 10% discount was applied on the overall contract, which was a savings to the Town of $354,000, Giurissevich explained.
True-ups can be applied, Giurissevich added, which is when the OPP goes over or under budget.
A chart shared noted the 2025 total police budget for Essex was $3.38M.
In 2023, Sweet noted top calls for service in Essex included property checks, motor vehicle collisions, by-law, community service, amongst others.
In 2020, Giurissevich noted Leamington put out a Request For Proposal for policing service. There were two bidders, Chatham Kent Police Service and Windsor Police Service (WPS).
OPP did not submit a bid, as the RFP terms did not align with regulations in which it has to follow, Giurissevich outlined. WPS ended up being the preferred proponent, however, once they started digging into the financials, it was noted it would either lead to a substantial tax increase or drastic municipal service cuts.
Giurissevich noted the OPP offered Leamington a $6.1M contract in 2022, while WPS was $9.4M. That would have been a 54% increase.
If the Town of Essex wanted to pursue obtaining a different police service, Giurissevich recommended issuing a Level of Service evaluation sometime between October and December to ensure the community wanted to see a change. In early 2026, the RFP would be drafted, with it closed between April and August. That fall, Council would have to evaluate and make a determination. A one-year notice of termination would have to be provided to OPP.
As 2026 is an election year, Giurissevich warned of lame duck status, where Council is unable to make big decisions which could impact this process.
Deputy Mayor Rob Shepley likes what the Town has now in terms of policing. He believes there are options to work with what is there currently. He spoke of the possibility of looking at having one police department with one jail serving the Lakeshore, Tecumseh, Essex Board, which could then perhaps offer more officers on the ground for more visibility. He was not in favour of retaining a consultant to look into the matter, which could cost around $50,000, or a motion to start a municipal policing service.
Councillor Katie McGuire-Blais appreciated the report, but was not satisfied with it, as she said it was not what she asked for. What she was hoping to learn is what the Town was receiving for the $3M it spends on policing.
“We are paying $3M-$4M for a service that we have no idea what we actually get for it,” she said. What she is hearing from residents is that they don’t see police presence, but noted she has noticed an increase in presence in the past few months.
She said it would be nice to outline to residents what they are paying for and options for more service.
Sweet noted the OPP maintains sufficient resources to provide full police service delivery. Specifics are not shared, due to safety reasons.
McGuire-Blais believes residents miss that small town policing, where they knew their officers. To her understanding, the Town has paid for police on bicycles and on ATVs, and she has not seen or heard of that taking place, yet.
She spoke of one of the top calls for service is property checks. Those property checks are done on officers’ own time, she said.
“They think that is a good use of their time. I would like them to listen to the Town and see what we think is a good use of their time,” she said, adding she would like the OPP to host more open house meetings to be there to talk to people and answer questions. “Be present where the people are. Don’t be sitting in your cars on the Arner Townline waiting for the call to come in. That is not a good use of your time.”
Mayor Sherry Bondy added that she has seen police on bikes, but it is not as much as they want to see. They are coming to flag raisings. She and Sweet meet with OPP reps monthly and relay feedback heard from Council and committee to them.
She said Council and residents need to connect with the Town to inform of concerns, or call the OPP non-emergency number.
Councillor Kim Verbeek echoed McGuire-Blais’s frustrations. Both have spent time on the Essex Police Services Board in the past, before it was merged with Tecumseh and Lakeshore.
Verbeek noted they would ask for more foot patrols and to get the bikes out. She asked the Mayor and CAO to relay that. Verbeek noted she has noticed police have had more visibility.
McGuire-Blais noted she has seen more police presence in the Town, but would like to see officers more present in community activities and have more engagement, and moved to send a letter to the Essex County OPP Detachment-North request that, in addition to more bike, foot, and ATV patrols. That was carried.
Bondy further put forward a motion, that Council supported, to direct Town administration to work with the OPP to evaluate the facility needs within the municipality, with a focus on synergies and improved service delivery to local residents.
That means reviewing if the Harrow Police Station is in the right spot or if something better is needed in Essex Centre.
“I just want to make sure the buildings they have are in alignment with services,” she said.
She would like to review that and perhaps find a different building in Ward 1 and maybe look at a different long-term building in Ward 4.
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