After weeks of negotiations, Brockton Council ratified a new five year contract with the Ontario Provincial Police at last Mondays meeting.
The deal will see the municipality pay the O-P-P 2.3 million dollars a year with a 2 per cent increase each year during the life of the contract.
Brockton Mayor Charlie Bagnato says the municipality has no other choice but to sign the contract.
He says the longer they wait, the more expensive it would have been.
Bagnato says there no use in putting it off as they have to have policing in Brockton.
Bagnato hopes to get some money in return for lending some of the O-P-P officers from the Walkerton detachment to other communities like the Bruce Peninsula or Indian Reserves.
He says the 150 thousand to 200 thousand dollars they get each year for having their officers assigned to other detachments will help offset some of the costs.
Bagnato says they did reach out to Saugeen Shores, Hanover, and West Grey Police Services in asking them to cover their area if they were not able to reach an agreement with the O-P-P.
But he says none of them had any interest in it.
Bagnato says starting their own police service is too onerous and costly adding if you want to go that route you have to start the process now.
