Leamington has made it official — it's ready to move on from the OPP.
On Tuesday night, council agreed to issue a request for proposals from any police service interested in taking over policing in the town.
Mayor Hilda MacDonald says complaints about the level of service and not getting a clear breakdown of what residents are paying for have forced the town to explore other options.
She says a request for increased service from the OPP was turned down.
"We asked for what we saw as a better level of service with more boots on the ground and we were refused by the upper levels of the OPP. We are not dissatisfied with our boots on the ground officers, we just want more of them and we were turned down."
MacDonald says far too many questions are not being answered.
"There is a model that they follow regardless of whether it applies to your municipality or not. This is the model you get and if you don't like it, they've painted us into that corner. It's totally on the OPP. They haven't told us anything. We don't know what we're getting for our money."
Leamington mayor Hilda MacDonald discussing the removal of a courtesy crossing on Erie St. near Highbury Canco on April 24, 2019 (Photo courtesy of CTV Windsor)
She says a recent example would be a request for a traffic blitz that went unanswered.
"We sent a letter to the staff sergeant asking for a traffic blitz on Erie St. S. because of the complaints. This is just a typical response time after time after time to what we're asking for. They choose to be oblivious to what we're asking for."
Leamington currently pays the OPP $5.4-million a year for policing.
MacDonald says several nearby police forces have already reached out to the town with interest in bidding on the contract.
Last month, Leamington council voted to terminate its contract with the OPP, but MacDonald says it's important to note if a new service is not in place in time the OPP would continue to police the town under section 5.1 of the Police Services Act.