OPP would cost $6.4M to police Dryden in first year

The invoice for the Ontario Provincial Police to service the City of Dryden, would amount to about $6.4 million, if the city wants the provincial force to police the community.

City councillors in Dryden received the OPP costing proposal on Monday night. The request for an estimate to police the city was requested in the fall. It's the second time the city has requested a quote from the OPP.

The OPP cost includes a salary cost of about $5.2 million, with an additional $710,755 required as a one time cost to purchase new vehicles and other equipment. If two senior officers with the Dryden Police Service, the Chief and Inspector want to transition to OPP, an additional $486,471 would also be incurred.

Other costs not included in the OPP quote include a $400,000 upgrade to the Dryden OPP detachment, costs of records storage, and police board costs. As well, the municipality could be on the hook for severance costs, disposal of assets like police cruisers and pension divestment.

The formula provided by the OPP is valid for three years, after which;the community would be moved to its billing model used across the province.

The budget for the Dryden Police Service is $3.9 million.

The OPP report will now be sent to accounting firm MNP, which is providing the city with a report to weigh the options between the two forces.

"You're always weighing the value proposition of both forces, and trying to understand the soft costs, not just the hard costs, not just the dollar costs," said Greg Wilson, the mayor of Dryden.

"Are we getting better policing, or at least the same policing by staying status quo."

Wilson said when the city was last presented an option to transition to the OPP in late 2018, the city couldn't afford to pay onetime upfront costs with the provincial force.

At that time, those costs were about $5 million. Wilson said, though, the city is now in better financial shape to take on some upfront costs, if it meant long-term savings. By the end of 2021, Wilson said the city will have about $9 million in debt outstanding.

Wilson said at first glance, the OPP would offer Dryden more officers than its current municipal service. However, more study is needed to ensure what the provincial and municipal forces offer on paper, are similar in practice.

"There was a bit of discussion about that last night. And that needs a little further investigation to make sure we're understanding we're comparing apples to apples."

MNP is slated to deliver its report on the two forces on June 7, with public consultation taking place in June. A final staff report would be delivered in July.

Dryden council has to make a final decision on accepting, or declining the OPP's offer by November.

Dryden is the only community in northwestern Ontario, besides Thunder Bay, to have its own municipal police force.