A bump in salaries and increased need for court security and prisoner transportation post-pandemic are significantly driving up the cost of OPP service for municipalities, including Norfolk County.
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At a recent budget committee meeting, Norfolk councilors said they were shocked after being hit with a bill showing a $3-million increase in the county’s 2025 contract with the OPP for policing.
The total 2025 bill for OPP services in 2025 is $15.5 million, including a year-end adjustment of $1.1 million for 2023.
The increase equates to a roughly 2.4 per cent tax hike in Norfolk, on top of a projected net levy increase of 8.5 per cent.
“The OPP recognizes that there are concerns about the cost of policing services,” said Gosia Puzio, a team lead with the OPP’s corporate communications bureau. “Our communities deserve cost-effective policing services, and we remain committed to fiscal responsibility.”
Under the current OPP billing model, all municipalities are paying the same base services cost per property – an average of $399 for 2025, plus additional costs for calls for service, overtime, accommodations, cleaning services, prisoner transportation, and court security.
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Puzio said OPP costs increased due to a boost in OPP salaries and benefits and a return to pre-pandemic workload levels. Salary and benefits account for about 90 per cent of OPP municipal policing costs.
“The OPP is one of numerous police services that have recently ratified new collective agreements resulting in salary increases for members,” said Puzio.
Puzio said the need for court security, prisoner transportation and, in some cases, calls for service, declined during the pandemic due to restrictions and closures.
“In 2023, activity levels among these billing components generally rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. This resulted in costs that were higher than those estimated in 2024, both due to this activity level rebound, as well as the salary rate increase.”
Puzio said the average cost of $399 per property for service is the highest since the OPP billing model was implemented in 2015 but added the cost “continues to compare favorably to other police services in Ontario.”
Coun. Kim Huffman, who is chair of the Norfolk police services board, called the increase “incomprehensible.”
“This basically astronomical ask has severe impacts for our community and our budget as a whole,” said Huffman.
Councilors agreed to send a letter to the provincial government expressing their concern.
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