ONTARIO CIVILIAN POLICE COMMISSION
Safety, Licensing Appeals and Standards Tribunals Ontario
COMMISSION CIVILE DE L’ONTARIO SUR LA POLICE
Tribunaux de la sécurité, des appels en matière de permis et des normes Ontario
ONTARIO CIVILIAN POLICE COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER of an Application by the Corporation of the Township of North Huron and the North Huron Police Services Board pursuant to section 40 of the Police Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.15 for the consent of the Commission to abolish the Wingham Police Service.
Decision made by: D. Stephen Jovanovic
Associate Chair
Application heard by way of written submissions.
DECISION
OVERVIEW
1The Corporation of the Township of North Huron (North Huron) and the North Huron Police Services Board (the Board) have submitted an application to the Commission for its consent under section 40 of the Police Services Act (the PSA) to abolish the Wingham Police Service (the WPS). If consent is granted, North Huron intends to enter into a contract to have the Ontario Provincial Police (the OPP) provide its police services.
2Under section 40 of the PSA, the consent of the Commission is required where a police services board intends to terminate the employment of a member of a police force for the purpose of abolishing the police force or reducing its size. The consent will only be granted if the Commission is satisfied that the proposed abolition does not contravene the PSA and if severance pay agreements have been reached with any member of the police force whose employment will be terminated. If no such agreement has been reached and if the parties have not agreed to refer the dispute to arbitration, the Commission may order the parties to submit the dispute to arbitration.
3As will be explained below, a principal concern of the Commission is that whatever arrangement a municipality may propose for the provision of police services to its residents it must ensure that adequate and effective police services will be provided.
BACKGROUND
4The current composition of the WPS is as follows:
The Chief of Police employed pursuant to a contract of employment expiring April 30, 2019.
Six full-time uniformed officers and one Sergeant employed pursuant to a collective agreement expiring December 31, 2019.
One part-time administrative assistant position, currently vacant.
5It is not known at this time how many of these individuals will be offered or will accept employment with the OPP.
6North Huron, following an amalgamation in 1999, became composed of three Wards: Blyth, East Wawanosh and Wingham. Blyth and East Wawanosh are currently policed by the OPP while the WPS covers Wingham.
7North Huron council adopted a motion to request a quote from the OPP for the cost of providing police services to the Wingham Ward in May 2015. In March 2016 the North Huron council approved the appointment of individuals to a Policing Advisory Committee, including the Chief of Police and the Chair of the Board.
8On September 25, 2017, the OPP Municipal Policing Bureau attended a special meeting of the North Huron council to make a presentation of its Costing Proposal (the proposal). The OPP made a second presentation to council on December 18, 2017 outlining the OPP billing model.
9North Huron council held a public information session on January 17, 2018 following which it took a number of steps to seek and then consider public input on the proposal. Extensive information about the proposal was posted on the North Huron website. It appears that most of the members of the public who attended meetings opposed the proposal.
10In January 2018, the North Huron CAO presented a report to council about the proposal and an analysis of the possible expansion of the WPS to Blyth and East Wawanosh. Further meetings of council were held on February 5, February 26, and March 5, 2018 to further consider the proposal and other policing options, including the expansion of the WPS. At that last meeting, council passed a resolution to maintain the WPS.
11However, after concerns were raised about the WPS budget and a potential tax increase of 12.65% for the Wingham Ward, the council decided to reconsider the OPP proposal and to request an updated costing. That updated proposal was received and discussed at the June 11, 2018 meeting of council. A by-law accepting the proposal was adopted by council the following week.
12The Commission may, after receiving a section 40 application hold a public meeting to receive submissions from municipal officials, police service board members, officers and civilian members of the police force, representatives of police associations, and proponents as well as opponents of any proposal to change the method of policing in the municipality.
13The current practice of the Commission, however, is not to hold a public meeting if it is satisfied that any proposal has been widely circulated and residents of the affected municipality have had sufficient opportunity to consider and debate the proposal. As the Commission was so satisfied in this matter, a further public meeting was not convened.
ANALYSIS
14The roles and responsibilities of the Commission, municipalities and police services boards in overseeing policing are set out in the PSA which provides, in part, the following:
4(1) Every municipality to which this subsection applies shall provide adequate and effective police services in accordance with its needs.
(2) Adequate and effective police services must include, at a minimum, all of the following police services:
Crime prevention;
Law enforcement;
Assistance to victims of crime;
Public order maintenance;
Emergency response.
(3) In providing adequate and effective police services, a municipality shall be responsible for providing all the infrastructure and administration necessary for providing such services, including vehicles, boats equipment, communication devices and supplies.
15Section 31 of the PSA indicates that it is the responsibility of the police services board to provide adequate and effective police services. The Commission’s role in considering the abolishment of a police force is set out in section 40 of the PSA.
16The following is taken from the Executive Summary of the proposal:
The Wingham Ward of the Township of North Huron requested a costing for OPP municipal policing. This contract will be for a defined number of contractual hours of service as represented by uniform Full Time Equivalent (*FTE), plus civilian FTEs. It is based on hours of service and reflects the integrated service delivery model, whereby service can be provided from any detachment uniform position. The contract term will be for 3+ years, meaning it will cover the remaining days and months in the year the contract takes effect, plus three calendar years thereafter. The contract is intended to be a transition contract after which time the municipality will be integrated into the OPP Billing Model. The OPP Billing Model is based on the municipality paying an amount equal to the sum of the municipality’s allocated portion of the OPP’s total municipal policing base and calls for service costs, and the costs for overtime, cleaning/caretaker, accommodation, court security and offender transport as applicable.
17The OPP currently operates from the Huron County (Wingham Satellite) Detachment. North Huron has agreed to renovate that detachment to accommodate the increase in staffing under the proposal and the existing WPS offices will no longer be utilized for policing services. A new Huron County OPP Detachment is scheduled to be built in Clinton.
18The following table represents the resources to be allocated to the Wingham Ward under the proposal.
19The services to be provided by the OPP to the Wingham Ward are extensive as would be expected and are set out in Schedule A to this decision. In reviewing the proposal for contract policing and with the Commission’s accumulated knowledge of the provision of OPP policing services to a large number of municipalities throughout Ontario, the Commission is satisfied that adequate and effective police services will be provided to the residents of the Wingham Ward under the proposal.
20The financial impact of contract policing with the OPP is a matter for the consideration of municipal officials rather than the Commission. However, it would be useful for residents affected by the proposal to have an understanding of the numbers involved. The figures below illustrates those numbers.
Year
OPP Service
Wingham Service
Savings
2019
$1,454,753
$1,165,459
-$289,294
Exit costs
$450,000
-$450,000
2020
$1,285,363
$1,170,265
-$115,097
2021
$1,311,070
$1,195,569
-$115,500
2022
$801,972
$1,219,480
$417,508
2023
$818,011
$1,243,870
$425,859
21Similar savings as in 2023 are expected through to 2028. The exit costs are comprised of severance pay, the payout of banked time, the possible continuation of benefits, costs associated with the termination of a dispatch agreement and possible pension top-up. No amount for the renovation of the OPP (Wingham Satellite) Detachment was presented to the Commission.
22The Commissioner of the OPP reserves the right to review the suitability of any uniform or civilian employee of the WPS before offers of employment to those individuals are extended. The OPP Career Development Bureau is responsible for any issues relating to the hiring of former WPS employees and typically will begin the hiring process upon receipt of the Commission’s consent.
23Once the Commission is satisfied that adequate and effective police services will be provided under a proposal and that there is no contravention of the PSA, the Commission must also be satisfied that appropriate severance agreements have been made, or if not, that any dispute will be resolved by arbitration. The information provided by North Huron confirms that the Chief of Police and the uniform/civilian members of the WPS have contractual arrangements that deal with severance pay. Accordingly, the conditions in section 40(2)(a) of the PSA dealing with agreements as to severance pay have been satisfied.
ORDER
24Pursuant to section 40 of the PSA the Commission consents to the abolition of the Wingham Police Service in order to allow North Huron to enter into a contract with the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services for the provision of police services by the OPP. North Huron is required to file with the Commission a copy of the contract immediately after its signing.
Released: November 22, 2018
____________________________
D. Stephen Jovanovic
Schedule “A”