After struggling to cut costs, Shelburne now looking at shared policing agreement
Community of 1,500 hopes to have new arrangement worked out with neighbours by May
The Town of Shelburne has decided not to switch from the RCMP to the Bridgewater Police Service after all, an idea that town officials had been considering because of the cost of the community's current policing contract.
The 1,500-person community in southwestern Nova Scotia pays close to $750,000 annually for its 4.5 RCMP officers, which represents about 18 per cent of its overall budget.
Shelburne was looking at an arrangement with Bridgewater that would cost roughly $630,000, plus other setup costs, for a local detachment of the same size.
But the neighbouring municipalities of Lockeport and the District of Shelburne were worried the move would impact the effectiveness of their RCMP patrols, so they asked the town to consider a shared policing agreement.
At a council meeting earlier this week, town officials voted in favour of trying to negotiate such a deal.
"We know it's not fair today, but an inter-municipal agreement could put a fairer basis in place," said Dylan Heide, the chief administrative officer for the Town of Shelburne.
Shelburne Mayor Karen Mattatall said throughout all the different proposals and presentations, there's always been only one goal: "So with good fortune, we may end up with a contract that does treat our residents fairly."
Sharing police costs could be done on the basis of population, assessment or a combination of both, said Heide. Negotiations are expected to include officials from the province's Justice Department.
Shelburne now hopes to have a new policing arrangement worked out by May.