Shocked and disgusted: Spike in OPP costs catching Ontario towns off guard [Video]

A spike in the cost of contracting the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is catching some towns by surprise, leaving one mayor feeling “shocked and disgusted.”

The OPP, which provides policing to 329 municipalities in Ontario, told Global News the price for its services is going up next year given an increase in workload and a major pay bump for its officers.

That increase will translate differently across the province, but municipalities like Collingwood and the Town of Greater Napanee are feeling caught off guard.

“I don’t know how we’re going to deal with this.… It’s just not fair to our community to get this level of hit for one year,” Collingwood Mayor Yvonne Hamlin said during a Monday council meeting.

“I’m totally shocked and disgusted, and we’ll be pursuing this.”

During that council meeting, Collingwood chief administrative officer Sonya Skinner laid out what the impacts would be.

Skinner said the town got its billing notice two weeks …