Mountain View County council is considering paying for an enhanced RCMP officer position, Reeve Bruce Beattie said during last week's council meeting.
The intention would be to create a new position, with the officer working specifically in the county and supervised by the Didsbury RCMP detachment, he said.
Beattie and Jeff Holmes, director of legislative services, recently met with Didsbury RCMP officials regarding the matter.
"The cost is right around $179,000 and that will be coming forward in the proposed budget for next year," said Beattie. "That provides for an officer to work in the county specifically under our direction and under our requirements."
Adding the new position would not reduce policing levels at the Didsbury RCMP detachment, he said.
Holmes added: "There would be flexibility for the municipality to prioritize what our key priorities are within our community and that is what the focus of an enhanced position would work towards, whether that is traffic and speed enforcement and rural property crime investigation or something else that council deems to be a priority."
The RCMP would provide regular updates on how the officer is spending his or her time in the county, said Holmes.
"All reporting would come through the detachment commander," he said.
A project budget sheet regarding the matter could come before council at a budget meeting this week.
