Oxford Township voters outside the village will be asked to renew their police millage later this year, however, officials are still determining how many officers will serve the community.
Officials last week voted 4-1 to place a five-year, 2.9152-mill proposal on the November ballot for contract police services from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department.
The request is a straight renewal, no increase, to replace the current millage after it expires in December 2006.
The proposed millage would run from December 2007 through December 2011. It’s estimated the Headlee Amendment will roll the millage rate back to 2.8652 for its first levy and raise $2,097,525 in its first year.
Treasurer Joe Ferrari cast a lone vote against the millage proposal because he said it’s ‘very short-sighted? to ask for a renewal with no increase.
‘I feel we will be selling our community short,? he said. ‘The millage that we’re requesting is not going to meet the police patrol needs for our community for the next five years. It’s just not going to do it.?
‘It will be one of these things that in three years you guys will come back and say, ‘We should have asked for more. We don’t have enough police officers,? Ferrari explained. ‘I hope it doesn’t. I want to be proven wrong. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.?
He’s referring to the fact that various budget projections for the police millage all show deficits beginning in either 2009 or 2010 which have to be offset by dipping into the police fund balance (or equity).
Ferrari said fund balance is there as a reserve, ‘not to supplement your budget.?
‘I disagree with that. That’s what your fund equity’s for,? retorted Supervisor Bill Dunn.
Ferrari’s opposition was also based on an opinion from the Michigan Townships Association (MTA) that state law requires millages must be levied equally across the entire township including the village.
Other officials argued this is the way the township has done it since 2000.
‘We’ve done it this way before,? said Trustee Sue Bellairs. ‘Our attorney says we can do it.?
‘We’ve done it before but it doesn’t mean it hasn’t been illegal,? Ferrari said. ‘You cannot levy the tax over just one. That’s what MTA says. Township attorney disagrees.?
Under the way Ferrari advocated, the village’s portion of the tax would be refunded to it to finance its police services.
‘Oxford Village does not want to do that,? Bellairs said.
As far as staffing decisions, the township has to decide what to do with the sergeant it shares with Brandon, who pays 50 percent of the cost, roughly $60,000.
Brandon officials voted unanimously Aug. 7 to stop funding the shared sergeant, who’s cost used to be split three ways until Addison Township voted to drop out in April.
Brandon notified Oxford of their decision in an Aug. 11 letter. It takes effect in 30 days.
Given Oxford can’t afford to fund the $118,581 sergeant’s position all by itself, a position must be cut.
One option, recommended by Dunn, is to cut the lieutenant and make the detective sergeant commander of the substation.
‘Lt. (Al) Whitefield is a friend of mine,? Dunn said. ‘It’s not an easy choice for me, but as an elected official this was just my feeling on the way we should go.?
Lt. Whitefield, who’s been off work for an extended period due to health issues, is scheduled to return to duty Sept. 1.
Another option, recommended by Undersheriff Mike McCabe, would be to keep the lieutenant, but drop the substation’s patrol investigator (i.e. detective) and replace him with a detective sergeant who would then be ‘the lead investigator on all cases and follow-ups.?
‘It’s a way for you to save a good chunk of money, $110,000,? McCabe told the board. ‘You can still have your lieutenant.?
Dropping the lieutenant would save $131,997 based on next year’s contract cost whereas cutting the patrol investi-gator would save $110,055 .
Neither of these proposals would cut the number of patrol cars on the road, McCabe noted.
Besides being the substation’s investigator, the sergeant would also act as the substation’s second-in-command, ensuring all three shifts are supervised and the lieutenant has a replacement when he’s out sick or on vacation.
McCabe noted the Federal Bureau of Investigation generally recommends one supervisor to every five or six employees.
Oxford’s substation is currently staffed by a total of 16 employees ? one lieutenant, one shared sergeant, one patrol investigator and 13 deputies.
Dropping the detective position altogether, whether it be the sergeant or the current patrol investigator, would not be a good idea, according to McCabe.
‘You need a detective out here with the case load that you have,? he said.
Another factor the township must consider in its budget projects is whether two deputies will need to be added in the future.
Depending on population growth and calls for service, McCabe said the township would ‘maybe? have to add a deputy in 2009 and ‘maybe again? in 2012.
This would be in order to meet the FBI standard of one officer for every 1,000 residents.
McCabe stressed he’s not saying the township definitely has to add them.
‘I wouldn’t put that in rock that you’re going to have to add a deputy in 2009 and 2012,? he said.
On the good news end, McCabe noted that the number of calls for service in the township have decreased from 7,097 in 2003 to 6,457 last year. So far this year, there have been 3,001 calls between January and June.
‘You can see the numbers are trending down,? he said. ‘And that’s not unusual. Crime has been going down generally. Not only in Oakland County, but in all our of contracted areas. As a result, the number of calls for service have decreased. While your population has increased, your calls for service have decreased.?