The Town of Oliver will be getting additional police officers as they move to take over more costs in 2022.
Announced on March, 15, the town will be entering into a municipal policing agreement with the province that will turn the Oliver detachment into a joint provincial and municipal policing unit.
The new agreement will also bring additional officers to the detachment after years of lobbying by the town. Going forwards, the detachment will now be served by six regular municipal members and seven provincial members, for a total of 13 members overall.
The additional two and a quarter members have been called for by the town for several years to better serve the community, Osoyoos Indian Band and the surrounding rural areas.
“These additional resources will serve to provide a better response to calls for service and support an increase in proactive policing initiatives,” said Oliver mayor Martin Johansen.
Starting April 1, 2022, the town takes over paying 70 per cent of the costs for the municipal police officers due to having more than 5,000 residents, with the remaining 30 per cent covered by the federal government.
The additional officers won’t start immediately on April 1 when the agreement takes effect, as the RCMP will still be conducting the process of filling the positions.
As part of the 2022 budget, the town increased property taxes by nine per cent, in line with previous yearly increases above inflation in preparation for the policing cost increase.
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