The agreement could be approved Oct. 9. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

Enhanced Policing

Council close to signing agreement for more RCMP officers in La Ronge

Sep 27, 2019 | 5:30 PM

Councillors in La Ronge appear close to inking a deal with the RCMP for three additional members.

The cost for such an agreement, however, doesn’t sit well with La Ronge Mayor Ron Woytowich who said he’s not in favour of entering into such an agreement. He believes the extra policing costs, which could be nearly $129,000 per year per officer, is expensive and will impact the amount of money residents pay in taxes to the town.

“It’s going to skew our taxes again where the other communities don’t have to pay for policing,” Woytowich said. “Property taxes and everything will have to reflect the additional cost and, quite frankly, the final thing I am against … is once we start paying for these extra policing costs, what’s to stop the province from saying ‘since you can afford it, why don’t we just continue charging you.’”

Woytowich noted the contract would be for a minimum of three years and the officers will only need to do police work in La Ronge for 70 per cent of the time. He added the town would be responsible for not only the wages, but also benefits and vacation time as well.

“Policing officers make a lot of money in relation to the average person,” Woytowich said. “The truth is the total cost is going to be what the RCMP would be paying for a member.”

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Council also brought up concerns about how the town will be billed effectively for the service. They talked about how the RCMP would be able to prove to them officers were in town when they reported to be in the municipality.

“I know it’s a lot of money,” said Deputy-Mayor Dallas Everest. “It’s going to be a working document is the way I see it. What we presented was what we thought we needed and that’s going to change month-to-month. I don’t think it’s going to be etched in stone.”

Council could make a decision at the next regular meeting Oct. 9 to sign the agreement.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno