It appears nothing of note transpired at a meeting earlier this week of the Owen Sound-Georgian Bluffs joint municipal task force..
The task force met on Monday and discussed some issues, like policing and drainage, but Georgian Bluffs Mayor Alan Barfoot says no decisions were made on anything that was talked about.
The only thing that was decided was to have another meeting, but a date wasn’t set and the meeting won’t take place until around the end of January.
Chief Tom Kaye of the Owen Sound Police Services and Garth Pierce, chair of the police services board, addressed the meeting on Monday.
Kaye spoke of the process Georgian Bluffs would have to undergo if it decides to seek a costing for policing from the city service.
Georgian Bluffs is policed by the OPP and is about halfway through a five-year contract with the provincial service.
That contract, which currently costs the township a little more than $1 million per year, can be terminated with a year’s notice.
Many of the candidates who ran in last month’s municipal election in Owen Sound spoke of the importance of expanding the city police service into the surrounding townships as a way to boost revenues.
That said, there’s no guarantee an expansion would necessarily decrease the burden on city taxpayers.
Barfoot has said Georgian Bluffs will examine all of its options.
Right now the township needs “more information” before making a decision to go ahead with a costing; he says that unidentified information is expected to be presented at the next task force meeting.
