It'll be business as usual when it comes to policing in LaSalle.
Mayor Ken Antaya says Amherstburg's decision to enter into a 20-year contract with the Windsor Police won't have any impact on what's been clear for quite some time; LaSalle residents want to keep their local police force.
Antaya says he applauds Amherstburg Council for making a tough decision, but LaSalle won't be heading in the same direction in the foreseeable future.
He says residents have spoken up.
"We haven't changed our minds in the manner in which we're going to be delivering services in the town. Police is important to our community in relation to the community aspect. The officers get involved in community projects and they coach little league teams. They just feel comfortable with the idea that the officers that protect us are also walking among us."
Antaya says the community doesn't want a change.
"Certainly if the community says let's take a look at whether or not there is an alternative service out there that we can do more economically and will provide the same type of service, the thing is, I'm getting the opposite and all members of council are getting the opposite comments from people. They're basically saying leave it alone, it's working really well, it provides a safe community and we're comfortable with that."
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He says it's a matter of 'if it's not broke, don't fix it'.
"That's something that you want to hang on to and as long as possible unless there's something terribly wrong with your operation and the way we look at it right now, we're very happy with our services and and the officers are very dedicated to the community. So that's important to us and we owe it to them and they feel as if they owe us something as well."
Since the Amherstburg policing decision Monday night, Antaya says he has received several comments from residents saying, "I hope you're not considering anything like that."
The 20-year contract with the Windsor Police is expected to save Amherstburg $14-million as well as an additional $2-million to $3-million in pensions and benefits.