New police chief learns he's not getting any more money

At his swearing-in ceremony Monday night, Sault Ste. Marie's new top cop was told we're expecting great things from him.

"We believe the Sault Ste. Marie Police can become a leader in policing in the province of Ontario," new Chief Hugh Stevenson was told by Donna Hilsinger, chair of the local police services board.

But in an onboarding letter presented to Stevenson earlier this month during his first day on the job, Hilsinger and Mayor Provenzano warned the new chief that he's expected to accomplish this lofty objective on the cheap.

The city police budget will be frozen at current levels for the foreseeable future, they said.

"We appreciate and recognize that the cost of policing services is increasing and that those increases largely relate to the rising cost of police labour," says the letter, sent on the mayor's letterhead.

"However, we need to be sensitive to the community's ability to pay for the service and work to find ways to ensure that the cost of the service does not create a hardship for the community or become unaffordable. The [police services board] does not see increasing the budget for the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service in the near term. Therefore, while you will have discretion in allocating funds available to you to operate the service, you will be expected to work within the current allocation for the foreseeable future. You will also be expected to allocate and direct resources towards the greatest needs in the community to ensure that our most acute challenges are being met."

The letter, distributed Monday to city councillors, also instructed the new police chief to combine the best elements of both traditional policing and community policing, maintaining frontline patrol functions.

It further tells Stevenson to maintain high morale and inspire confidence in the community.

The following is the full text of Stevenson's onboarding letter:

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June 15, 2018

Chief Hugh Stevenson
Sault Ste. Marie Police Service
580 Second Line East
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Dear Chief Stevenson:

We are excited to welcome you to the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service. This letter is written on behalf of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service Board (SSMPSB) and it is being provided to you with the full and unequivocal support of the SSMPSB.

The SSMPSB believes it is important that we outline, at the outset of our relationship, our perspective on the direction we believe the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service take, the values the SSMPSB intends on demonstrating through its leadership and the values, therefore, that should be reflected through your leadership.

Each member of the SSMPSB appreciates and recognizes our role as provided for by Section 31(1) of the Police Services Act and your role as prescribed by Section 41 of the act. It is evident, from our perspective, that for us to properly discharge our respective roles, we need to work closely with one another so that the goals, objectives and governance of the organization are consistent with its operational mandate and that each support and further the other.

In this spirit, the SSMPSB would like the following positions to inform your operation plans and your day-to-day leadership of Sault Ste. Marie Police Service:

Our service should be fiscally responsible and provide value to taxpayers: We appreciate and recognize that the cost of policing services is increasing and that those increases largely relate to the rising cost of police labour. However, we need to be sensitive to the community's ability to pay for the service and work to find ways to ensure that the cost of the service does not create a hardship for the community or become unaffordable. The SSMPSB does not see increasing the budget for the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service in the near term. Therefore, while you will have discretion in allocating funds available to you to operate the service, you will be expected to work within the current allocation for the foreseeable future. You will also be expected to allocate and direct resources towards the greatest needs in the community to ensure that our most acute challenges are being met.

Our service should recognize the value in both traditional and community policing: The SSMPSB appreciates the importance of community policing. The members of our police service should develop and maintain relationships within the community, support our community partners in addressing the root causes of crime and/or proactively address issues that help to deter or avoid criminal activity. Notwithstanding, the SSMPSB believes that there is also value in traditional policing efforts and that one model does not have to exist at the expense of the other. We are confident that, with your experience and expertise, you can help Sault Ste. Marie develop a policing model that combines the best elements of both traditional policing and community policing. To put it simply, it is important to the SSMPSB that on a going-forward basis we maintain our frontline patrol functions and that calls for service are responded to professionally and within acceptable response times.

Our service should inspire confidence in the community: Police officers serve an incredibly important community safety role but also have a significant social responsibility. Police officers are responsible to uphold and enforce the law and are, as a result, guardians of it. The community at large looks to the police service to protect their safety and their rights and needs to have confidence in its ability to do so. You are responsible to ensure that the service continues to develop constructive and productive relationships with our community partners. Further, you are responsible to ensure that our officers act in accord with their responsibilities, maintain a high level of conduct and integrity and have the right skills and training to serve our community capably. When an officer's conduct falls below the appropriate standard, it is our expectation that the officer's conduct will be addressed in a manner that preserves the public confidence in our service.

Our service should have ambition: The SSMPSB believes that our service can become a leader in policing in Ontario and that we should develop a plan to meet that goal. The SSMPSB will be completing its current business plan shortly and we invite your guidance to assist us in developing a plan that is progressive and ambitious. We have confidence in your leadership and in the potential of both the service and our larger community. With the right plan and leadership, our service can and should become a provincial leader.

Our service should have a positive culture and high morale: We will not be able to achieve any of these goals if our senior leadership, uniformed officers and civilian staff do not feel respected, included and engaged. Positive culture and high morale are preconditions to the success of our organization. You should focus on ensuring that the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service is a positive and constructive work environment where merit and effort are recognized, encouraged and rewarded. It is your responsibility, working with the senior leadership team, to develop productive working relationships with and amongst our employees.

In conclusion, the SSMPSB believes that the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service as a collective, its civilian and uniformed members individually, and the community at large would all be well served if the SSMPSB, the police chief and the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service all made a sincere and concerted effort to live the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service motto: Committed to Excellence in our Community.

We look forward to working with you, each in our respective roles, to ensure that we provide the best policing services we can to our community.

Sincerely,

Donna Hilsinger
Chair, SSM Police Service Board 

Christian Provenzano
Vice chair, SSM Police Service Board

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