By Gretchen Millich, WKAR News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-925089.mp3
MASON, MI –
Voters in rural townships in Ingham County will decide in November if they want to pay to have police protection. Current patrols in the out-county areas are being phased out, to offset budget cuts to the sheriff's department. If the special assessments are approved, the townships will form a joint police authority, but some officials are worried that the vote could create a county of haves and have-nots.
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In rural Ingham County, 13 townships have no police departments. Since the 1850's, sheriff's deputies have patrolled the roads, and when residents called the police, they relied on the sheriff's department to answer.
But that's about to end. County commissioners have been whittling away at the sheriff's budget, and plan to completely wipe out service for rural areas starting January 1.
Leslie Township supervisor Dallas Henney and others argued against the cuts, but Henney says they soon realized it was a losing battle. So they came up with a ballot proposal to provide their own funding for police service.
"There were a few key components that were critical that we wanted to make sure that we covered," Henney says. "Number one, we wanted to make sure that this was going to fix the problem, number two, we wanted to make sure that we had control over these dollars and it wasn't going to get siphoned off for any other uses."
Under the ballot proposals, homeowners would pay up to $150 per year; businesses would pay up to $250. If the proposals are approved, the townships will have about $2 million each year to fund police service. They could decide to use the money to contract with the Ingham County sheriff's department, or they might contract with another police agency or form an entirely new police department.
But each township is voting separately. County Commissioner Mark Grebner is concerned they could end up with a messy patchwork.
"Where some of them approve the millage or tax levy and some of them don't, and we will only have a month or two to straighten out and create a system to accommodate the areas which approve it," says Grebner. "We don't have a contract in place; we don't have a negotiated deal. It's going to be a very interesting two months after we find the results of the November election."
Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth says if the proposals fail in some townships, those areas could end up with minimal police protection. The townships that do pay extra will not subsidize an area that votes no.
"If they contract with the sheriff that will be like their own police department," notes Wriggelsworth. "It would be like the Lansing police. The Lansing police don't take calls in a non-contracted area. So we might have deputies working in a contract area, but they are not going to respond in a non-contract area. As troubling as that is, that's just the way it's going to be."
Leslie Township Supervisor Dallas Henney doesn't like that scenario. He says it would be like living in the wild west, before the townsfolk hired a sheriff.
"One of the common things people will say to me is, 'I own a gun, I can protect myself and my family.'" says Henney. "I don't think we want all of our disputes settled with people going around with that type of fear that they have to shoot their way out of their problems. Although it may sound appropriate and romantic at some levels, it's not in the best interest of our community overall."
Henney and other township supervisors are not taking a position on the ballot questions. But Henney says he wants to make sure that voters know exactly what they're voting on. Between now and Election Day, townships will be sending out newsletters and holding informational meetings to discuss the ballot proposals.
Election 2010 - WKAR
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