By Cecilia Nasmith
The Town of Cobourg has been notified that it will receive $55,249.55 from the Ministry of the Solicitor General from its Court Security and Prisoner Transportation Program.
Cobourg council heard this week, however, that it does very little to offset these costs because it's an amount that hasn't increased in two decades.
Director of Corporate Services Ian Davey's report said that this annual offering is meant to offset these costs in the wake of downloading 20 years ago – when smaller court sessions in satellite communities were consolidated in larger ones.
The province capped this funding support at $125-million annually, and that is where the cap still stands – despite 20 years of rising costs to the municipalities that (like Cobourg) host the courts.
“Under the Police Services Act, the local Police Service is responsible for providing adequate court security, and the local municipality in which the court is located is responsible for the cost of providing that service,” the report said.
At Monday's committee-of-the-whole meeting, Deputy Mayor Suzanne Seguin asked how much of the town's actual court costs this covers – how much is covered by this $55,000.
“My answer is, very little,” Mayor John Henderson said.
“I don't want to discredit that we are getting the differential here, but that is something that we are still reviewing.
“We know that costs are not keeping up with court security in the province. And recently people from the Solicitor General's office indicated pretty clearly there will not be any enhancement.”
The standard formula will remain, Henderson said, and the amount the town receives will not increase from what it has been “for a significant time.” Meanwhile, actual costs prisoner-transport costs are escalating.
The good news is that the ministry is looking at IT and AI innovations that can make costs more affordable in the future. Meanwhile, he said, “we do bear the brunt of those court cases.”
Councillor Brian Darling estimates that the town is left with a $400,000 tab to be picked up by Cobourg taxpayers.
“We will accept the $55,000 graciously though.”
