Rail Funds and OPP Transition Discussed at Orangeville Mayor’s Forum | bloginfo(‘name’); ?>

October 6, 2022 0 comments

By Sam Odrowski

As the October 24 municipal election approaches, it is important for Orangeville residents to understand the perspective of those who are running.

With that in mind, the Dufferin Chamber of Commerce (DBOT) hosted a Mayors’ Forum last Wednesday (Sept. 28), where candidates for Mayor and Deputy Mayor shared their views on a variety of issues.

The evening was moderated by Doug Harkenss, who posed several questions to the candidates, each having two minutes or less to respond.

How to Use the $32 Million Windfall

The City of Orangeville recently sold real estate associated with the Orangeville Railway Development Corporation, for approximately $32 million. Candidates for the DBOT Mayors’ Forum were quizzed on how the money should be spent.

Mayoral candidate Jeff Patterson said his platform is to freeze taxes for the next four years, due to the high level of taxes Orangeville already pays compared to other municipalities.

“A significant portion of the sale proceeds of $32 million represents a recapture of taxes that Orangeville ratepayers had to pay to other municipalities during the years this land was owned,” Patterson said. “It was a redundant asset for the city, so it was wise to take it off the balance sheet – convert it to cash.”

He added that the cost savings from transitioning from the Orangeville Police Service (OPS) to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and not paying nearly $500,000 in property taxes for the road will help to control taxation more.

Also running for mayor, Jeremey Williams said it’s not the city’s money, it’s taxpayers’ money, and while he disagreed with the sale of rail assets to acquire the $32 million, he would not support their use to cut taxes.

With the money belonging to Orangeville taxpayers, Williams said residents should be approached to decide how it should be spent.

“I would like to see public engagement on long-term projects or things that we need for this city, long-term, and then proceed that way,” he said.

Current mayoral candidate and councilor Lisa Post said the money must remain in investments for two years while the city conducts a public consultation.

“Engaging the public to determine if it is used in recreation, transit or infrastructure or if it is an investment in the arts, or if it is something completely different, that must be on the taxpayers of Orangeville,” Post said. “We need to carry out a major public consultation before we get a penny of this money.”

Mayoral candidate Kim Reid said the city needs to invest the money, look at its reserves and see what residents’ priorities are in the community.

“No, we can’t give everyone everything they want, but we have to look at an overall package. Are families here, and we need to look at recreation? Would programs for seniors benefit? Is it infrastructure? What would be the best value for that money, and in the long run, we don’t just have to look at today, and poof, that money is gone,” Reid said.

She added that the city needs to have an identity for itself, beyond being a bedroom community, and this could be that opportunity.

Deputy mayoral candidate Todd Taylor said he voted to sell the railroad and was confident in the decision because it was costing the city $450,000 in property taxes a year, and no other level of government had provided support for this cost.

He stressed that the $32 million should not be used to freeze taxes, as the sale of an asset should not be used to pay bills.

“What I want to do is keep that money and spend it on something the city wants and needs that will be a lasting part of this city in terms of a capital project,” Taylor said.

It could be for parks, recreation and employment lands, but he said the final decision would have to be made as a city.

The other running mate for mayor, Trever Castiglione, said Orangeville residents must decide how the $32 million should be spent.

“It shouldn’t just be the Council, there should be input from everyone, and hopefully that can be done sooner rather than later,” he remarked.

Castiglione said while it’s great to put money aside to accumulate interest, there are many needs in the city, such as improvements to Tony Rose. He said the facility will not last two or three years without a significant amount of money being invested in it.

“But what else is going to happen? What other needs do other Orangeville residents see they want to do?” he asked.

“There needs to be a major campaign by this council that’s going to be voted on and city staff to get the people of Orangeville involved. Get their input, town hall meetings, online, any way you can, so the people of Orangeville can really have a say in what gets done with those funds.

Transition from PAHO to OPP

Another question posed to candidates during the mayors forum – how successful do you think the transition from PAHO to OPP was, which came into effect on October 1, 2020.

Kim Reid said she thought the transition went smoothly and the city saw no change in service.

“I don’t think we can yet determine whether it was successful or not. We’re still on a three-year contract and once we get billed for service calls, I think we can figure out whether or not we’re going to save money or if we made a mistake,” he said. she noted. . “Up to this point, I don’t think we can decide.”

Reid added that of 58 officers who moved from OPS to OPP, only six remain.

Post said she was “extremely proud” of the transition decision, even though it was controversial and difficult, it was the right decision for the community from a safety and financial perspective.

She said the transition has been smooth and the vast majority of OPS officers have been offered positions with the Ontario Provincial Police.

Post added that morale is higher than it has been in years and OPP officers are present, responsible and easy to talk to.

“There were a lot of raids that were carried out as a result of very lengthy investigations by the OPP,” she said. “We took drugs off the streets; we have improved road safety. Overall, I am extremely satisfied with this transition”.

Williams said the transition was a “terrible decision” but prefaced his comments by saying the OPP is a great organization, but it’s under provincial control.

Although a police services board committee is meeting, its ability to bring about change within the OPP is gone forever, he said.

Williams also claimed the council had “sold a bill of goods” for the transition and the cost savings shared by the consultants would not be discounted.

“They [the OPP] are going to charge what they are going to charge,” he noted. “But it doesn’t matter whether you agree with me or not, the public should have been approached with a referendum or a plebiscite. If my council had decided to get rid of it, it would have opted for a referendum.

Patterson said it’s too early to determine if the transition to the OPP was successful, but there are three things to measure its success: financial savings, security and police-community relations.

However, he said he thought it was the right decision.

Part of his challenge and demand of the council, if elected mayor, is to ensure that the city realizes the benefits of the transition that have been identified by the consultants, particularly the financial aspects.

Patterson said in personal experience there was an improvement in security as the OPS couldn’t deal with a particular house where illegal transactions were ‘obviously’ happening and within two months of taking in charge of the OPP, this activity ceased.

“One can only speculate as to why OPS took so long, and in fact, never cared about it,” he remarked.

Castiglione said he had been very involved during the transition, speaking to the board about possible issues and the consultant’s report.

He added that given that very few of the OPS members who made the transition are still operating under the Dufferin OPP and that calls for service are higher than initial plans, he believes the transition was a mistake. which will cost the city in the long run.

During the day, the Ontario Provincial Police are present, but Castiglione said he and other residents don’t see them at night and response times are slower.

“Don’t get me wrong, the OPP is over there. But they are trying to cover a much, much bigger area than what OPS was,” he said.

Castiglione also said there is less traffic control now and less ticket revenue generated by the OPP.

Meanwhile, Taylor said the transition decision was never about better service, as the officers working at both OPS and OPP are disciplined professionals who want to keep the community safe. town.

He commended the former OPS Chief of Police and the Commanding Officer of the Dufferin OPP Detachment for their work.

But he was the only one to vote against the transition from OPS to OPP in the council’s 6-1 decision because he didn’t think the consultant was right in saying the city would save $58 million in here 2036.

Taylor said he continues to track cost savings and the city isn’t hitting the numbers put forward.

“We had to pay pensions, we had to pay a buyout, we had to pay a police station. And it saddens me to think that we have all this money sitting on our books when we didn’t need it,” he remarked.

“Service calls, we don’t know what they are. The comments made earlier about whether they are superior or inferior – that’s hyperbole. We don’t know what they are. Once the contract is concluded… we will know exactly what the costs are.

Taylor added that even though he voted against the transition, he served as chairman of the police services board to carry out the transition and supported the board throughout it.

The municipal election is on October 24.