With the Town of LaSalle listed as one of the routes Amherstburg wants to explore as the future of policing, LaSalle’s mayor is open to discussions.
That said, Crystal Meloche said that things are still in the infancy stages and she and her municipality need to hear more before gauging their level of interest.
“It’s in the very, very early stages to say if there is any interest or not,” Meloche told the River Town Times last week.
Meloche said she needs to sit with her colleague, Amherstburg Mayor Michael Prue, to find out more information. She said LaSalle wants to know what type of service Amherstburg wants and what Amherstburg’s asks are in terms of cost and level of service.
“Once I have answers to those questions, we will see if it is possible to do something between the two municipalities,” said Meloche. “I think it’s worth having the conversation. I think we need to understand what Amherstburg wants in policing.”
LaSalle has a successful police service that its residents are proud of, Meloche said, but she noted it does come with a cost. Residents want their police service as it is but she indicated conversations with Amherstburg will go forward to find out if something could be worked out.
Meloche said as of last Friday she has had “a quick conversation” with Prue but nothing further.
“We haven’t sat down and had an official meeting yet,” said the LaSalle mayor.
The issue is “still really new,” she said, as Amherstburg town council only gave direction Feb. 24 on what it is looking to do. In addition to exploring an option with LaSalle, Amherstburg council voted to check out staying with the Windsor Police Service, explore re-establishing the Amherstburg Police Service, getting an OPP costing and reach out to see the level of interest in a county-wide police service.
There hasn’t been much feedback as of yet in LaSalle regarding Amherstburg’s motion, with Meloche noting the meeting with Prue around what Amherstburg wants has to come first. She said not only would LaSalle town council have to discuss the matter, but so would the LaSalle Police Services Board.
There are economies of scale that could be found with a regional service, but noted there are start-up costs that could be prohibitive. From a LaSalle standpoint, she said they are not seeking to make any changes.
There are a lot of similarities between Amherstburg and LaSalle, but Meloche said her job is to make sure things make sense for LaSalle and to ensure it serves their interests.
Information sought by LaSalle on what Amherstburg’s specific policing needs are
By Ron Giofu
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