Ratepayers in Rhineland Municipality hope RCMP will be able to provide the same level service now that officers have been moved out of Altona.

RCMP have shifted those members out of Altona and centralized them out of their Morden and Carman offices in an effort to create some efficiencies. The move has been in the making for some time.

"We would have like to see their continued presence in Rhineland," said reeve Don Wiebe. "We think it makes sense based on response time. We hear reports that response times may be a couple hours in some cases. We have some concerns about that."

An RCMP spokesperson has assured local communities and municipalities that police services and resources have not changed and that officers remain committed to the policing needs of Altona and the surrounding area.

"We're not exactly sure what the RCMP contingent now looks like. We understand that there has been no reduction in staff. Rhineland's concern, however, is about losing a local police presence and of course response times, and we intend to raise that as an issue for our ratepayers and residents."