Esquimalt councillors will spend the summer mulling over how to best proceed in the ongoing dispute to stick with Victoria police services, after residents weighed in on the townshipB次元官网网址檚 consideration of legal action against the province.
A special council meeting was held Monday night to allow public input into a mediatorB次元官网网址檚 report on the matter released last month. Its findings, , went against EsquimaltB次元官网网址檚 own police advisory panel recommendation that the municipality switch to RCMP services as a cost-saving measure. Only Victoria pays more per resident for police services in the Capital Regional District.
The most contentious issue is identifying who will pay to implement the reportB次元官网网址檚 43 recommendations and ultimately, how a lack of compliance, either by Victoria or Esquimalt, would be enforced.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no hammer, nothing to force anybody to do anything,B次元官网网址� said Coun. Lynda Hundleby.
She said she was disillusioned after a 2010 audit of the Victoria Police Board failed to improve the working relationship between the two municipalities on the topic.
B次元官网网址淭he audit addressed our concerns, but nothing was done about it; it was dismissed. I get the feeling that weB次元官网网址檝e been dismissed all along,B次元官网网址� Hundleby said.
The township spent an estimated $300,000 compiling its rejected report, leaving councillors hesitant to take expensive legal action against the province.
Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins said the mediatorB次元官网网址檚 report contains several recommendations that would be expensive to implement, such as a CRD working group, intended to help create cost-sharing measures on regional policing concerns.
B次元官网网址淰icPD have tried valiantly to create discussion for a more regionalized approach,B次元官网网址� Desjardins told council Monday.
In a statement, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson wrote that the province would provide the B次元官网网址渘ecessary support and resourcesB次元官网网址� to implement the recommendations, including funding for a facilitator and B次元官网网址減roviding training to police board members to enhance and strengthen governance.B次元官网网址�
Esquimalt council plans to revisit the issue at its Aug. 13 meeting.
dpalmer@vicnews.com
