Leamington Won't Overpay For OPP

After a four-year fight, the Town of Leamington will no longer have to overpay for policing services provided by the OPP. Leamington mayor John Paterson says the town will see "significant savings" in 2015 once policing costs are the same for all municipalities in the province. "There are municipalities in Ontario that are receiving full OPP services like we do and they're paying a minimal amount -- less than $50 per household, in some instances," says Paterson. "I've heard per household costs over $1,000. What we've tried to do is get the cost down." Paterson says it has been frustrating to overpay for policing while other municipalities paid much less for the same service. "It's just the way OPP contracting was set up when we switched from Leamington to the OPP. You had to accept the contract the way they did it," says Paterson. "The rest of the municipalities in Ontario were facing the same choices and as a group we stood up and said this isn't fair, we have to find a more equitable solution." Paterson won't release exactly how much the town will be saving until the report goes before council on Monday night.