Mountain residents forced to pay for extra Hess cops

So Councillor Farr wants to use the taxpayers’ stabilization reserve to pay 50 per cent of the paid-duty policing costs for a cluster of bars and restaurants called the Hess Village entertainment district.                        

This is a slap in the face to hundreds of non-profit events that are required to pay for policing costs, whether they need it or not. This is a huge drain on resources foist upon non-profit events.

Why should Mountain residents be paying to babysit drunks at Hess Village? The root cause of the plight of Hess Village is the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and its unaccountable Smart Serve program that all bar employees must take.

Obviously these over-serving bars and restaurants are not using the tools they were taught to use. After all, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that if these bars only served one drink per hour to their customers, they would go broke.

In my view, the most cost-effective way to curb drunkenness and crime in Hess village is to see the AGCO suspend a few alcohol licences and watch how fast the problem goes away.

Unfortunately, council didn’t have the nerve to vote this subsidy off the island.

 

Mark-Alan Whittle

Hamilton Mountain

 

Hamilton Mountain News