Word on the Street: Belleville | Brighton | Cobourg | Kingston | Napanee | Peterborough | Prince Edward | Oshawa | Port Hope | Quinte West
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Summary
Prince Edward County’s OPP policing costs have hovered around $4.5–4.8 million annually for the past five years — a significant share of local taxes. While the County has avoided the steepest increases seen elsewhere, the long-term trend remains upward. Tourism-driven call volumes, wage settlements, and the provincial billing model have combined to push costs higher. While the County’s policing cost dipped slightly from 2021 to 2024, it remains one of the largest single-line expenses in the operating budget, representing about 8% of all municipal spending. Unless the County tackles the underlying drivers — high seasonal call volumes, event policing, and bylaw-related calls handled by OPP — the bill will keep growing.
How the OPP Billing Model Works
Since 2015, municipalities using OPP services have been billed under a province-wide formula with two key parts:
- Base cost per property – covers core patrol, supervision, and administration.
- Calls-for-service cost – tied directly to local incident volumes, from traffic collisions to disturbances.
Roughly 60% of the total cost is fixed (base) and 40% is variable (calls-for-service).
The more calls logged within municipal boundaries, the higher the cost.
When Prince Edward County fills up with tourists, short-term rental guests, and festivalgoers, those call numbers surge — and so does the County’s bill.
Prince Edward County’s Policing Cost Trend
| Year | PEC Police Services Board Budget | Change vs. Prior Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $4,792,434 | — |
| 2022 | $4,686,800 | -2.2% |
| 2023 | $4,575,245 | -2.4% |
| 2024 | $4,541,704 | -0.7% |
| 2025 | $4,585,704 | +1.0% |
(Source: County of Prince Edward – Tax-Supported Operating Budgets, 2021–2025)
While the County’s policing cost dipped slightly from 2021 to 2024, it remains one of the largest single-line expenses in the operating budget, representing about 8% of all municipal spending.
This trend contrasts sharply with the provincial picture: many Ontario municipalities saw double-digit OPP bill increases in 2025, prompting the province to provide $77 million in emergency relief to offset spikes.
Why the OPP Budget Keeps Rising
1. Tourism Pressure
The County’s population of 26,000 swells to more than 100,000 people on peak summer weekends, generating hundreds of additional calls for service.
Typical high-season incidents include traffic collisions on County Roads 33 and 12, noise and parking complaints at Sandbanks, and impaired driving near wineries and festivals. Each call triggers a cost under the provincial model — so even non-criminal disruptions (e.g. bylaw or parking issues) add up.
2. Wage and Contract Settlements
Provincial OPP wage increases have been substantial. The Ontario government’s 2023–24 contract arbitration awarded retroactive raises of 8.5% over three years, with further adjustments for seniority and overtime. Those costs are baked into the base rate billed to municipalities.
3. Event Policing and Special Details
Events like the County Marathon, music festivals, and peak Sandbanks weekends require paid-duty officers and traffic control. Even when organizers share costs, the County often bears residual expenses through increased overtime or call volumes.
4. Growth in Short-Term Rentals (STRs)
With more than 900 licensed STAs county-wide, police face seasonal complaints around noise, parking, and disorderly conduct. Each one adds to the calls-for-service burden, even though many could be resolved by bylaw staff rather than police.
How Tourism and Policing Intersect
Tourism drives jobs and investment — but it also drives policing costs.
Under the OPP model, each call counts equally: a fender-bender on Highway 62 or a noise complaint at a rental cottage both register as billable service.
A comparison of call volumes in other tourist-heavy municipalities (2024 OPP data) shows the pattern clearly:
| Municipality | Population | Annual Calls for Service | OPP Cost/Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Edward County | 26,500 | ~7,800 | $375 |
| Muskoka Lakes | 7,200 | ~3,000 | $400 |
| Niagara-on-the-Lake | 18,500 | ~6,500 | $395 |
| Haldimand County | 46,000 | ~9,200 | $330 |
The County’s policing cost per property ranks among the highest in Eastern Ontario, largely due to the combination of tourism, geography, and events.
The Local Impact
The OPP budget affects everything else.
Each additional $100,000 spent on policing is money not spent on roads, parks, or housing.
- 2025: The County will spend $4.6 million on policing — roughly the same as its entire annual road maintenance program.
- Tax impact: About $175 per household in local taxes goes toward OPP services.
- Budget rigidity: Because policing is a provincial contract, the County has little direct control over cost escalation once the billing arrives.
How to Rein In the Costs
1. Cut Calls for Service at the Source
- Expand the Municipal Bylaw Division to handle noise, parking, and property disputes that currently involve OPP.
- Increase the number of seasonal enforcement officers in summer months — a fraction of OPP’s hourly cost.
- Improve traffic engineering around Sandbanks and Wellington to reduce accident-prone bottlenecks.
2. Make Tourism Pay Its Fair Share
- Dedicate a portion of the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) to policing and bylaw management during high season.
- Require event organizers to cover the full cost of traffic control, barricades, and policing for marathons and festivals.
- Enforce noise and occupancy penalties for repeat-problem STAs, reducing unnecessary police dispatches.
3. Collaborate on Smarter Policing
- Establish a joint OPP–County working group to analyze call data quarterly and identify trends.
- Revisit seasonal patrol levels, aligning staffing to true peak periods rather than flat deployment.
- Advocate for a “tourism adjustment factor” in the OPP billing model to recognize the County’s unique visitor load — similar to the relief model the province used in 2025.
4. Increase Transparency
- Publish a quarterly policing dashboard showing top call categories (traffic, noise, marine, mental health) and the percentage of calls that could have been handled by non-police responders.
- Share the data publicly so residents understand where the money goes — and how behaviour change can lower the bill.
Conclusion: Control What We Can
The County can’t control provincial wage settlements or the billing formula — but it can control the conditions that drive local costs.
If we reduce unnecessary calls, make events and tourism pay their share, and negotiate smarter deployment, we can flatten the curve on policing expenses without compromising public safety.
Prince Edward County shouldn’t be penalized for being a great place to visit.
But it also shouldn’t have to keep paying premium policing costs because of decisions made in Toronto — or because summer visitors treat our roads like a racetrack.
A more balanced, data-driven approach will save taxpayers money and keep policing sustainable for years to come.