Common Council will hear a presentation on a report delivered to the Fundy Regional Service Commission on options for regional policing but that decision was far from unanimous with a narrow 6-5 vote.
Councillors John MacKenzie and Donna Reardon expressing that they don’t want to waste time on it if there’s no political will to move it forward. Mayor Mel Norton, who cast the tie-breaking vote, says he wouldn’t go so far as to say there’s rousing support for change at the F-R-S-C but he does think progress is being made on this issue. He senses there’s a new openness to having that discussion.
He tells us while everyone, including the City of Saint John, is satisfied with the policing services being provided the costs of policing for everyone are going up, and have gone up more than 40-percent over the last 10 years.
Councillor Greg Norton’s opinion is that they should allow the authors of the report to come in and present a report that was “written on the backs of taxpayer money,” referring to the fact that the City paid half of the $10,000 it cost to put that report together.
Mayor Norton says a more detailed study of all the options would be an approximately $125,000 endeavour.
