In June 1992 Montague Council held a special meeting to gather the public's views on whether the town should continue to use RCMP coverage or establish its own municipal police force.
The subject has been bandied about among various councils for decades and now the matter is on the table yet again.
However there's a large difference between then and now.
Twenty years ago council realized the importance of public opinion, after all it's the residents' town. But the present day council waited until the last minute to rally taxpayers for their opinions on whether or not to cancel the town's RCMP contract and to top it off there's uncertainty about alternate plans.
One resident who has expressed concern over the idea to cancel the police contract is former mayor Patricia McGowan, who shares her views on the subject through a letter on page 5 of this week's Graphic.
As far as the issue over policing is concerned it all comes down to dollars and cents.
In 1992 it was argued that it would cost the town from $300,000 to $400,000 to set up a police station and hire qualified staff to do the job.
That would mean then, as it does now that the towns' taxpayers would have to foot the bill either through increased levies or by cutting funding to other programs or projects.
Years ago that rationale was presented by former mayor Merrill Scott who reasoned the challenge of increased taxes couldn't be met by some residents.
Today, when economic challenges are even greater, it would cost the town in excess of hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide a building for law enforcement officers and purchase equipment and whatever else would be necessary to establish its own police force. No one has mentioned an up-to-date cost estimate which is worrisome.
About 50 people attended the public meeting in 1992 and all but one that spoke had no criticism of the RCMP's service. That confidence was reinforced by the presence of a full contingent of firefighters and several business people at the meeting.
Today's residents may or may not echo those sentiments of support at a meeting called for Wednesday night.
Public attendance at town meetings is typically small in numbers through no fault of the current council. However policing is a matter that involves all residents, therefore the onus is on the public to voice any concerns they may have now, not later.
Each councillor is also responsible for stating his/her opinion and be prepared to justify that stance if necessary. As elected officials they owe that much to the public.
In the end everyone has to live with the decisions made by this council so the time is now for everyone to speak their mind. It will be too late when municipal elections roll around in late fall.
Heather Moore is editor of The Eastern Graphic. She can be reached at editor@peicanada.com