Amherstburg council has instructed administration to come back with reports outlining options for the future of policing within the town.
At the beginning of the year, citing increasing costs, the City of Windsor announced it would be ending the deal to provide policing services to the town once the current contract expired on Dec. 31, 2028.
Over the summer, Amherstburg said it had ceased all conversations with Windsor over renewing the policing agreement.
The first report will outline cost and structure of sourcing policing out to the Town of LaSalle.
Mayor Michael Prue said the second report will look at the cost of re-establishing an Amherstburg police force.
"We're looking at other town's that have done so, in the last two years and how much it's cost them, and we're going to see whether we can afford that cost. Last, but not least, come January, we're expecting a full report from the OPP explaining to us how much they will be able to provide the service for us," said Prue.
Prue said he wants the reports back to council by March 2026 at the latest as timing is now a concern due to next year's municipal election.
"When the nominations open on May 1, we enter into a sort of lame duck period, and you can't do that stuff. You have to wait until 2027 to get it done with a new council, and we have to be ready to go for Jan. 1, 2028," he said.
Prue said he is keeping an open mind to all options.
"There are people in this town who cherished their police force, when it was the Amherstburg and want that back. There are people in this town who admire what's in LaSalle, and think that a joint force, LaSalle-Amherstburg could work very well, and there are others that look around to our other [municipalities] in the county, all of them except LaSalle are with the OPP," said Prue.
Prue said all reports will be made public and residents will be able to offer feedback on their preferred option.
Windsor has been providing policing in the town since Jan. 2019 after Amherstburg council voted to approve a 20-year contract with the city and disband the former town police service.
-With files from CTV Windsor's Robert Lothian