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Handcuffed by Policing Costs

Tillsonburg's Mayor Seeks County Revenue to Help Offset OPP Costs.

The Town of Tillsonburg is looking for creative ways to minimize their policing costs.

In September, Mayor John Lessif told Heart FM the Mayor's Coalition made a big breakthrough with policing costs that would see decreases coming in January of 2014.

Wednesday morning, Lessif told County Council those decreases have been pushed back to 2015.

With Tillsonburg residents facing a 2% increase in their tax bill for policing alone this year, Lessif made a special motion to council.  He wants the County's net Provincial Offences Act revenues, derived from fines and court costs, to be redirected to the lower tier municipalities to help cover their OPP wage increases. 

Lessif tells Heart FM, "For our residents to be faced with a 2% tax increase just to cover the cost of increased labour costs for OPP policing, it's very concerning.  We have many demands in our community like any community and to spend 29-30% of our tax dollars to pay for policing is quite concerning.  We don't have the money to do that."

Warden Don McKay pointed out that for every dollar given back to lower tier municipalities, tax payers would have to make that up to the County.

County staff will report back on implications of making such a move.

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