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July 15, 2025

Dear Minister Kerzner,   

On behalf of the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC), I am writing to raise serious and ongoing concerns related to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) billing model for 2026 and beyond, and its broader impacts on municipal budgets, service delivery, and community safety and well-being. 

The current OPP billing model is no longer adequate for addressing the financial pressures faced by Ontario’s rural and small-urban municipalities. These financial pressures speak to the overarching need to implement a modernized municipal financial framework. Today’s municipal responsibilities must be represented in a sustainable financial structure and relationship between all orders of government. The EOWC continues to support both the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) in their call for a Social and Economic Prosperity Review.  

The EOWC acknowledges and thanks your government for their efforts to refine the OPP billing model over the years. However, it is clear that minor adjustments and annual ‘bail outs’ are not sustainable for either the Ontario Government or municipal governments. We echo the Government of Ontario’s own message that now is the time for a more comprehensive, structural review of how policing is funded and delivered across the province. 

Key Concerns: 

1. Lack of Transparency and Timing of Budget Notifications
   The timing of billing notices are often issued in the middle of municipal budget cycles. This timing places significant strain on local governments, particularly smaller municipalities with limited administrative capacity. In addition, the billing methodology lacks clarity, making it difficult for municipalities to understand what they are paying for and to explain those costs to taxpayers. 

The EOWC is calling for improved transparency around: 

• The number of officers allocated to each detachment 

• Actual service levels delivered in each municipality 

• Cost drivers behind fluctuations in calls for service and base costs 

2. Increasing Responsibilities Unrelated to Crime Prevention
   Municipalities are experiencing rising policing costs due to increasing demands on OPP officers to respond to non-criminal and complex social issues, particularly mental health crises and addiction-related calls. These issues fall outside traditional policing mandates but are driving significant cost increases. This is of serious concern as this shifts responsibility onto municipalities without corresponding resources or authority from the Province. 

With the recent passage of Bill 6, Safer Municipalities Act, 2025 which mandates police response to drug overdoses, these pressures and associated costs, are expected to grow further.  

3. Staffing Challenges and Long-Term Leave Trends
   We are also concerned about the growing number of officers on long-term leave. In some municipalities, up to 25% of officers funded through own-source revenues are unavailable for active duty due to workplace injury or other long-term leave. This is part of a national trend, but municipalities are left to bear the financial and operational burden of these vacancies, without the ability to recruit orbackfill positions. 
4. Unfulfilled Provincial Commitments on Court Services Costs
   Municipalities continue to fund prisoner transportation and court security, despiteprevious commitments from the Province to upload these costs. The Province’s funding cap of $125 million has now been exceeded. The EOWC is calling on the Province to honour its full commitment and fully fund these services, particularly in regions where municipalities host courthouses that serve multiple communities across a wider geographic area. These communities face disproportionately high costs that must be addressed through a more equitable model. 
5. Need for Provincial Investment in Upstream Solutions
   The EOWC applauds the Ontario Government for their leadership around asking municipalities to develop Community Safety and Wellbeing Plans as a first-step to fostering safe and heathy communities. The EOWC is advocating for a dedicated provincial fund to support and implement these Community Safety and Well-Being plans. These plans represent an important tool for addressing root causes of crime and improving outcomes across sectors, but municipalities cannot implement them alone. Targeted provincial support would help fund upstream initiatives that reduce the burden on emergency services and improve long-term outcomes. 

Next Steps 

We urge the Ministry to initiate a full review of the OPP billing framework, in consultation with municipalities and key stakeholders, using a lens to: 

• Improve transparency and predictability; 

• Ensure fairness across all community types; 

• Reflect on the evolving realities of municipal responsibility and service delivery, including modern policing and public safety. 

Media Contacts  

Chair Bonnie Clark (Warden of Peterborough County) 

info@eowc.org | 705-927-4207 

Meredith Staveley-Watson 

Director of Government Relations and Policy  

info@eowc.org | 647-545-8324 

www.eowc.org