The debate over who will police Amherstburg's streets may come to a conclusion Monday night at town council.
Should the town choose to move away from its current police force — Windsor Police Service has proposed a five year contract that would result in $567,000 in annual savings.
Current staff would remain with the new Windsor police detachment with the exception of the Chief and Deputy Chief positions — they would be replaced with Staff Sergeants.
So far bringing in outside policing has been met with mixed reviews at several town-hall events. Some residents expressed concern over the level of service, while others called the move the first step towards having all town emergency services contracted out.
Windsor Police Chief Al Frederick was present at those town-halls. He hopes things will come to a conclusion after a long debate over what the town's next move will be.
"We've put a lot of effort and resources into preparing our proposal, we believe it's very fair and it's going to improve the level of service in the town of Amherstburg if we're given that opportunity," he says. "One way or the other at least we'll know on Monday night."
Frederick pointed to key cost saving features involving equipment costs and staffing that Windsor police can provide at previous meetings.
Mayor Aldo DiCarlo hasn't ruled out the possibility the town would defer the issue to a later date — or put the decision to a referendum in the upcoming municipal election.
— with files from AM800's Rob Hindi.