South Frontenac Council - Jan 20

Jeff Green | Jan 21, 2015

OPP contract – not exactly negotiations

It's been almost six years since the Township of South Frontenac negotiated a contract for policing services. The council of that day expressed frustration that they were presented with very little in the way of options by the OPP contract negotiators.

As the current council contemplated the proposed contract from the OPP at their meeting on Tuesday night (January 20) they found there was no room for negotiations at all.

The cost of policing for the township this time around has been set according to the same formula as townships who do not have policing contracts and use what is known as 'status quo' policing, where service and staffing levels are determined by the OPP and there is no contract.

The old contract included provisions for a specific number of officers to be assigned to the South Frontenac detachment, but the new one only says that “necessary police service will be provided,” said township CAO Wayne Orr.

In fact, as Wayne Orr explained it, the only option for the township if council decides not to accept the contract as written, would be to either go to a status quo situation or “set up our own police force”.

What a contract does provide for is a police services board that participates in the hiring of a detachment commander, and receives regular reports about police activities in the township.

“The only thing we have the option of determining is the length of the contract,” said Orr.

Councilor Mark Schjerning said, “I think we should go with the contract in order to keep a police services board in place, which gives some public oversight. I think we should set a five-year contract.”

Councilor Norm Roberts said that since Council has a four-year term they should set a four-year contract.

A vote was taken on the five-year contract and passed, 6 votes to 3. Councilors Roberts, John McDougall, and Bill Robinson voted against the motion.

Building fees set to go up each year

It's a math formula worthy of our math column. Building fees will go up each year by the rate of inflation as calculated by the federal government each November. But in order to keep the fees at an even dollar amount they will be rounded off. The fees, which currently are $14 for each $1000 in estimated construction costs, will go up by 2% this year, which puts them at $14.28, which is then rounded down to $14. However, the figure $14.28 is still used as the base for next year. If the cost of living goes up by another 2% this coming November, the rate will go to $14.56 and the fee will be rounded up to $15 per $1,000 in construction costs.

“It is impossible to say for sure where the rate will go, but based on the way things have been, the rate should be about $18 in a few years, which could mean that the fees cover the cost of the building department,” said CAO Orr.

Chief Building Official Brian Gass said, “We did not raise fees for 12 years and then we had to bring in a large increase, which did not go well with residents. This would allow us to avoid that.”

Council approved the new fees and decided to re-examine the bylaw in two years' time to make sure it is working well.

Cycling in South Frontenac

Councilor Ross Sutherland, who cycled his way to election, informed Council that he is organizing a meeting in February or March to work on a plan to promote on and off road cycling routes in the township. He is hoping that a cycling map will be developed out of the process. Anyone interested in going to a meeting is invited to contact Sutherland at 613-274-7846 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..