A vote by Montague council to cut the number of RCMP officers in the town from three to one will have an impact on police service in eastern P.E.I., say RCMP.

You can't eliminate positions without affecting service, saysSgt. Andrew Blackadar. (CBC)

Montague voted Thursday night not to renew its current contract with the RCMP for three officers and enter into a new agreement with the province for one.

RCMP Sgt. Andrew Blackadar said you can't eliminate positions without affecting service.

"I guess shocked, but not surprised, that council made the decision they did last night," said Blackadar.

"The calls for service we're receiving in their area actually requires four or five police officers to do the work effectively. Forty per cent of our calls for service in Kings County come out of the town of Montague. And to do it with any less would be virtually impossible."

Blackadar said the decision will mean a reduction in staff at the Montague office.

Public meeting opposed cuts

About 20 people turned out for a meeting to discuss policing in Montague Wednesday night. (Denis Calnan/CBC)

The town is looking to cut back on the $150,000 a year it spends on policing, as part of a plan to deal with its $3.1 million debt.

Council heard a lot of opposition to the plan Wednesday. About 20 people turned out for a public meeting on the issue and most were not in favour of the cut. There were about six members of the public at the council meeting Thursday.

Town resident Merrill Scott was at both meetings.

"I'm a little devastated, to take such a drastic change from three paid people down to one," said Scott.

"The way it sounded is that the council didn't listen whatsoever to the people that spoke. It's really surprising to me. I couldn't say it any other way."

Montague Chief Administrative Officer Andrew Daggett said while council heard opposition at the meetings, turnout was not big.

"There wasn't a huge crowd there, and it's usually the very vocal group that's opposed to something that shows up," Daggett told CBC News after the meeting.

Daggett noted some of the arguments to keep the police force at its current numbers inadvertently supported the cut. One person at the public meeting noted police service was great in Lower Montague, an area not included in the service agreement Montague has with the RCMP.

"The most depressing part of this for me is that people are acting like the RCMP are a bunch of third graders and if they can't get their own way they're going to take their ball and go home," said Daggett.

"I just don't see that being the case. They're a professional organization, public safety is their mandate. They're going to do what they can do with the resources that they have."

Five councillors voted for the cut while one voted to reduce the number of officers from three to two. None voted to retain all three.