The Town of Yellow Grass is amalgamating its one-man police force with the Milestone RCMP starting on Monday, May 1.

A public meeting will be held tonight, April 26, in the Legion Hall starting at 7 p.m., where a member of the Milestone RCMP will be on hand to answer any questions about the change-over.

The current resident officer, Const. Jim Heron, is undergoing tests and course upgrades to become an RCMP member; if he succeeds in qualifying, he will work out of the Milestone detachment and will continue to live in Yellow Grass, said town police commission member Bob Grassick.

The ball began rolling towards the amalgamation a year ago, when town council had invited representatives of Saskatchewan Justice and the RCMP to discuss the issue.

As the town's population had dipped below 500, they were told they weren't supposed to have a municipal police force but be under the jurisdiction of the RCMP.

An answer didn't come back until October, when the town was told they could go ahead and plan for the amalgamation of the police force with the Milestone detachment.

The cost of policing was a big factor in helping council agree to the amalgamation, with RCMP service charged on a per capita basis.

The cost for RCMP coverage is $15.61 per capita, which is "quite a substantial cost savings to us," said Grassick, who noted the per capita costs to maintain their own police went as high as $100 or more per capita in some years.

"This sounded like the best way to go," said Grassick, noting the town will still have a resident police officer along with the savings.

He estimated the new police service will save the town between $30-40,000, which can be applied to other parts of the town's budget. The office used by the police officer, located in the town office, will still be available for use by the RCMP if they need it.

Letters went out to all town residents explaining the amalgamation of the police forces, and only a few comments have been heard since by police commission members or the town office.