Amherstburg reviewing proposal on policing from Windsor service
Amherstburg’s review of policing options is much narrower than anticipated after the Ontario Provincial Police declined to submit a bid.
Windsor Police Service was the only service to send a proposal by the Oct. 6 deadline, said Amherstburg CAO John Miceli.
LaSalle had earlier decided to pass on the bidding to take over police duties in Amherstburg after officials realized they wouldn’t be able to provide a proposal substantially cheaper than what Amherstburg is currently paying.
“We developed a (request for proposal) where we emulated the same level of service that we presently have in Amherstburg,” Miceli said. “(The OPP) wanted to give us their costing model and that would not support what the RFP requested.
“Their level of service model would be less than what Amherstburg has right now.”
The request for proposal document asked respondents to provide specific information on the level of police service delivery, including response policy, staffing levels, specialized services, technology, records management, supervision, victim assistance programs and monitoring of prisoners.
The document also asked about hiring and rank/position determination policies for existing Amherstburg uniformed and civilian police staff. Cost estimates were required, as was an explanation of how local civilian oversight would function. The contract would begin Jan. 1, 2019, and continue for at least five years with an option to extend another five years.
“We approved an RFP to issue that basically mirrored what the town presently has and based on that — the only one that responded was Windsor,” Miceli said.
Miceli would not reveal any details of Windsor’s proposal, adding he is currently validating information in the submission.
The document will then be reviewed by the town’s police advisory committee, which is comprised of members of the police service board, town council and administration.
The committee will bring its findings to town council, after which public input will be sought.
“I guess the real question is going to be, once we present our findings … will it satisfy the needs of the community,” he said. “If there’s a saving and they have satisfied the needs of the community, what will the community want to see … how much is enough.”
Miceli expects council to make a final decision — whether to keep Amherstburg’s municipal police service or to replace it under contract with Windsor police — sometime in January.
The possibility of being wedged between Windsor police services doesn’t faze LaSalle Mayor Ken Antaya. He said the town has no plans to change its service.
“If they go with Windsor and geographically we’re in the middle, well that’s the way it is,” Antaya said. “Certainly if (Amherstburg has) a good experience and council of the day, which I suspect will be sometime in the future, they could reconsider it. But as of right now, I would think that we’re status quo.”
Antaya said comments received from the community support staying with the current municipal service. “If we ever considered anything like that we would definitely go out to the community and get their opinion,” he said. “We think that we would meet resistance.”
Antaya said it’s a huge decision to abandon a local service. “When you make the move, you better be sure of yourself,” he said. “What might be cheaper now may not be cheaper in the future (and) when you lose control, you lose control.”