Blackburn News file photo.Blackburn News file photo.
Midwestern

Amalgamation talks between local police forces comes to an end

There will be no merger coming between police services in West Grey and Hanover.

Hanover Mayor Sue Patterson said amalgamation talks were put on hold in 2017 until after the 2018 municipal elections, and Hanover attempted to reconvene the talks recently.

"In January of this year, Hanover Council issued an inquiry to the Municipality of West Grey, expressing an interest in reconvening amalgamation discussions," said Patterson.

Following that inquiry, she said West Grey recently got back to Hanover with an answer.

"At this point in time, West Grey has indicated to us that they are not interested in reconvening the discussions," added Patterson.

When the discussions first began in 2017, and even more so following the impacts of COVID-19, Hanover was looking to try and gain some cost savings regarding policing among many other departments, but West Grey has declined to continue talks.

Hanover will now look at some other options, and Patterson said they will continue to look for savings across the board without depleting local services.

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