A meeting will be held Monday to discuss the future of policing in Amherstburg after Windsor City Council voted to end its agreement to provide policing to the town.
Amherstburg Mayor Michael Prue says council will meet in-camera on Monday and receive a report on the issue on potential options moving forward.
"The CAO is going to be presenting the factual details of what she's been able to discover, and the town council, in camera, will be able to debate this," he says.
AM800 News has learned that city council, following an in-camera vote near the end of December 2024, informed the Town of Amherstburg of its intention to end the agreement that had the Windsor Police Service providing policing in the town.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens says every year, city council evaluates the effectiveness of this program, and I know we're providing first-class policing service to the town of Amherstburg, but the cost to do so for the service we provide is just really not worth it.
"When we watch the numbers each and every year, we're getting close to the point where we feel it's on the border of Windsorites subsidizing the provision of policing to Amherstburg, which isn't right," he says.
Windsor has been providing policing in the town since January 2019 after the Amherstburg council voted to approve a 20-year contract with the city and disband the former town police service.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens says it really comes down to being a financial decision.
"We can sit down with the Town of Amherstburg and negotiate a new agreement that satisfies all of the outstanding issues that we have; then we're absolutely willing to do that," he says. "If we can't, then we certainly respect their decision, and we've given them four years notice to find a new provider for policing in the Town of Amherstburg."
The 20-year agreement between the town and the city is divided into four five-year segments, and in late 2023, the town approved the first five-year renewal phase of the contract.
Under the terms of the original agreement, an 18-month notice of termination must be provided, but the agreement would not end until the current renewal expires, which is Dec. 31, 2028.
Mayor Prue says he was not on Amherstburg council at the time the deal was struck but spoke out publiclly against it over concerns of what would happen if the deal was cancelled.
"Many people had the same concern; the deal was struck because it was going to save us money, they said. I'm sure it did save a little bit in the short term, but in the long term, we're going to have to discuss that on Monday night," he says.
Amherstburg Council will meet in-camera Monday at 4 p.m. at Amherstburg Town Hall.