Archive for June, 2011

At its Wednesday, June 1 meeting, the Washtenaw County board of commissioners will be asked to give initial approval to the price that municipalities will pay for a contract sheriff’s deputy through 2015.

Washtenaw County sheriff Jerry Clayton, right, briefed county commissioners on May 19 about the recommended price to charge local municipalities to put a contract sheriff's deputy on patrol. In the foreground is Greg Dill, director of administrative services for the sheriff's office. (Photo by the writer.)

At a board working session on May 19, sheriff Jerry Clayton briefed commissioners about a recommendation from the police services steering committee (PSSC) to set the price in 2012 at $150,594 – the same amount that’s currently charged – with incremental increases over the following three years. By 2015, the price would reach $155,157 per police services unit, an amount that includes overhead and other costs.

For well over a year, the PSSC has been working on the contentious issue of how much it costs to provide sheriff patrols – and how much local municipalities should be charged. In late 2010, the committee brought forward a recommendation to the board that determined the cost of providing a police services unit (PSU) to be $176,108. At its Dec. 1 meeting, the board voted to accept that amount, with the understanding that they’d need to make a much harder decision – about the price that the county would charge for a PSU – at a later date.

That time has come.

The difference between the cost of a PSU and the amount charged – roughly $25,500, based on current figures – would be absorbed by the county. Leaders of two local municipalities – Ann Arbor township supervisor Mike Moran and Pat Vailliencourt, president of the Manchester village council – attended the May 19 work session. Both are members of the PSSC. They argued that the county benefits from supporting deputy patrols by creating a safer environment for residents and businesses, and ultimately strengthening the local economy.

Also during the May 19 working session, Clayton identified other policy issues that the board needs to address – issues that he’s raised a previous meetings as well. They include setting the contract length – Clayton favors longer terms – and developing a policy to handle requests from municipalities to add or subtract deputies.

If commissioners give initial approval to the price on June 1, the resolution would return for a final vote at the board’s July 6 meeting. The board is now operating on a summer schedule, with meetings held on the first Wednesday of the month. [Full Story]

The Detroit News reports on efforts by Ann Arbor-based Borders Group to seek more time for pulling out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The article quotes John Pottow, a University of Michigan professor specializing in bankruptcy law, who calls the relationship between Borders and its creditors “unusually antagonistic.” Creditors have objected to extending the time that Borders has to file a turnaround plan. “It sounds to me like they’re jockeying for control,” Pottow said. [Source]