CLYDE — Westlock County’s peace officer will start covering the Village of Clyde 15 hours per month, after the two municipalities signed a memorandum of agreement for bylaw enforcement.
Final approval came from village council Sept. 14 — the county had already agreed to it after an in-camera conversation Aug. 11. For 2020, this is costing the village $1,500 per month, plus $100 per hour for extra time. They’ll renegotiate the fee each year by Dec. 1.
The agreement is the result of a study done by Transitional Solutions Inc., who recommended that the village contract bylaw enforcement services from the county for 15 hours per month.
Those hours will include patrolling, bylaw enforcement, crime prevention, school talks on safety, Crime Watch, Block Watch, and fraud prevention for seniors. Court duties and time spent on paperwork are also part of the agreement, both of which county interim CAO Ron McDonald noted in July weren’t accounted for in the TSI study.
“This particular memorandum fits in with our financial future, what we can afford to pay for, given the changes to police and the other police officer costs that we’re going to incur when the RCMP costs are budgeted directly to the village,” CAO Ron Cust told councillors.
Darcy DeVos, the county peace officer, won’t begin working in the area right away; the Alberta Justice and Solicitor General’s office still has to officially appoint DeVos to cover Clyde. The county is also waiting on the arrival of a second part-time peace officer.
An already-existing agreement between the county and the Town of Westlock which allows either officer to work in both jurisdictions without prior approval, also means that the town peace officer can operate in Clyde when needed.
