Town hosts three open houses to inform residents and draw community feedback about plan to expand Woodstock Police Force
Woodstock Mayor Trina Jones admits she and council members face a tough decision as they consider expanding the Woodstock Police Force to the entire community at a significant cost to taxpayers.
She said the council will give community feedback significant consideration as it makes the tough decision.
The town hosted three open forums over four nights to discuss the policing plan in detail publicly. The events on Aug. 19 in Richmond Corner and Aug. 21 in Northampton attracted more than 50 residents each. The forum on Aug. 22 at the McCain Community Theatre in Woodstock welcomed a smaller but equally engaged crowd.
“This is a really important topic,” Mayor Jones told the audience at the Northampton Rec Centre as she and Woodstock Police Chief Gary Forward explained the policing plan and fielded questions.
She said the council hopes residents will respond in high enough numbers to the open forums and surveys available online or delivered through the post office to paint a clear picture of the community’s point of view.
During the open forums, the mayor explained the background to the council’s consideration of expanding the Woodstock Police Force to cover all five wards.
Following the provincewide municipal reform, which included expanding Woodstock’s boundaries to include the outlying local services districts, New Brunswick Public Safety Minister Kris Austin requested the town submit a plan for the Woodstock Police Force to expand its police coverage.
The detailed plan, developed under the guidance of Chief Forward, included a policing structure, a cost breakdown and a potential timeline.
When the plan is complete, the proposed expanded force would grow from the current 24 officers and 10 support staff to 45 officers and 22 support staff.
The plan’s cost estimates will see the town’s annual policing budget grow from its current $5.3 million to $8.7 million. In accepting Woodstock’s policing plan, Minister Austin committed an additional $1.8 million in transitional funds from the province.
Jones explained that the minister had agreed to hold discussions regarding potential additional transition funds.
The policing plan also includes a property tax rate hike of five cents per year over the next three years, for a total of 15 cents per $100 of assessment in Wards 1, 2, 3, and 5. Taxpayers in Ward 4, which includes Woodstock’s former boundaries, already pay for Woodstock Police Force services.
During the open forums, Jones explained that the timeline for the changes if the council decides to move forward with the expansion plan is tentative. She noted that the RCMP remains under contract to provide policing in the outlining wards. She explained that the federal force requires a one-year notice of the termination of their contracts.
The submitted plan tentatively calls for the Woodstock Police Force to replace the RCMP in Ward 5, the Grafton and Northampton area, in October 2025. The town force will expand to Ward 3, the Jacksonville area, in October 2026, then to Wards 1 and 2, Woodstock LSD and Richmond Corner, in October 2027.
Jones and Forward fielded a wide array of questions at each meeting, including policing costs, models, recruitment, and challenges to meeting modern policing demands, including diversity.
Questions surrounding costs focused on capital and operational expenses, noting the need to expand the existing policing station to handle a force which will double in size.
Jones said the plan includes expected capital costs, adding the town is already taking steps to provide additional space for the Woodstock Police Force. She said the town will also face infrastructure challenges to meet demands beyond the police budget.
Jones said the police are already using Woodstock town hall’s former council chambers as their new Street Crime Unit headquarters, boardroom, and press room. She explained that the Woodstock Police would eventually take over the entire town hall and fire station complex.
Before the meeting in Northampton, Jones told the River Valley Sun that the town is reviewing requests for proposals (RFPs) to build a new town hall and sign a long-term lease with a private developer.
Jones added that the council is also well into the process of eventually building a new fire hall on Deakin Drive.
Forward detailed the model of policing outlined in the expansion plan, noting the Woodstock Police Force had already implemented many of the changes. He said the WPF model, which is already in use, focuses on proactive policing, including 24-7 patrols in each ward, community engagement, transparency and cooperation with other police departments such as the RCMP, the Department of Public Safety, the Fredericton Police Force and other provincial and federal police agencies.
Forward stressed that the policing plan focused on the tools, training, and personnel required to deliver the quality of policing residents expect and deserve.
He said the plan “looked at what we had and what we needed.”
Ward 5 resident Cara Paul, a former RCMP officer, asked service questions during the meeting at the Northampton Recreation Centre. She said she knows from experience the challenges to meet language and diversity demands. She also noted recruitment challenges.
Forward acknowledged that “recruitment won’t be easy,” and the force is committed to meeting diversity demands.
Following the Northampton meeting, Paul told the River Valley Sun she holds Forward in great esteem. She explained she worked with him while he was a member of the Fredericton Police Force, and she served with the RCMP in the capital region.
“I really like Gary,” Paul said. “I think he is doing a fantastic job with the Woodstock Police Force. His results speak for themselves.”
On Tuesday, Aug. 27, the town announced Forward’s resignation from the Woodstock Police Force to become Fredericton Police Chief.
Deputy Chief Mark Bennett will take over as interim Woodstock Police Chief on Sept. 6.
Following the council meeting, Forward said he and Bennett share similar policing philosophies and expressed confidence that his successor would be the right man to lead the force into the pending changes.
During the open houses, a couple of audience members suggested that the mayor and council had already decided to expand the department.
“Is there a no-go?” one asked.
Mayor Jones stressed that the town has not made any decisions, and the council will weigh all factors before making one.
Some residents, in addition to those at the public forums, contacted the River Valley Sun, raising concerns about the survey. They noted that several people did not receive the survey brochure in the mail or couldn’t access the survey online.
Some, including at least one at the Woodstock open forum, questioned whether Ward 4 residents, who already have WPF services and don’t face a related tax hike, could sway survey results.
Jones explained that the survey date will include the respondent’s ward to allow that information to be included in the analysis. She added that survey results so far do not indicate that all Ward 4 residents agree on how the council should proceed.
