Ford government giving $77M to municipalities to help offset increases in new OPP contract

The Ford government will provide $77 million to help offset recent increases in police services provided by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to more than 300 municipalities across the province.

In a statement released Friday, the government says the money will help small and rural communities address the budget impacts of the new collective bargaining agreement reached between the province and the Ontario Provincial Police Association in July 2024.

The new four-year deal includes a 14.75 per cent increase in salaries over the length of the deal, making OPP officers the highest-paid police force in Ontario. The agreement includes retroactive salary increases of 4.75 per cent in 2023, 4.5 per cent in 2024, and 2.75 per cent in 2025 and 2026.

The government’s contribution will see a 3.75 per cent bill reduction for municipalities on 2023 total reconciled costs, a 44 per cent bill reduction on 2023 reconciled overtime costs, and a 10 per cent bill reduction on amounts invoiced for 2025 policing costs.

Several municipalities have reported double-digit increases in their OPP bills for 2025, with at least one municipality facing more than double the previous tally.

That’s left local leaders looking at additional tax increases — or spending cuts — to cover the unexpected expenses.

“Without the provincial action, the rise in OPP costs would have significantly impacted small, rural, and northern communities serviced by the OPP. Municipal fiscal sustainability is under pressure across Ontario, and municipalities struggle to balance their budgets,” said Robin Jones, president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.

The chair of the Rural Ontario Municipal Association also welcomed the provincial investment.

“In the context of inflation, infrastructure pressures, and a growing homelessness crisis, rural municipalities simply cannot afford a 20 per cent increase in OPP costs. This provincial investment acknowledges the escalating fiscal challenges municipalities face,” said Christa Lowry.

The OPP provides policing services to 330 municipalities across Ontario that don’t have their own police forces.

OPP recovers the cost of policing those municipalities through a billing model put in place in 2015. It includes a base cost per property as well as variable costs related to the number of calls for service and other factors, according to a document on the force’s website.

The government says it’s also taking a look at the OPP billing model “to ensure that it meets the needs of communities across the province.”

Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report