Opinion: Lose the budgetary boat anchors and save Ann Arbor cops' jobs

The new police and court building is going up. The two traditional budgetary boat anchors called golf courses are still operational. The art fund to decorate the new building is funded. Green space and 160 parks will be operating.

But Ann Arbor will have to lay off police and fire personnel.

An Ann Arbor police car sits outside city hall on a recent day.

Different funds within the city budget pay for all these different entities and can't be co-mingled. Some of these things were funded by special millages, so intellectually, I understand these funds can't be used.

Emotionally, it reminds me of a ship captain informed the ship is sinking, who then tells his crew there is no money for plugs or pumps, but they can get busy painting the upper decks because the paint fund is pretty flush.

The fire department just signed a contract that included wage concessions to the city to avoid layoffs. The ink isn’t even dry on that contract, and the city announces firefighter layoffs in the summer. Why would any union dealing with the city voluntarily make any kind of concessions after the hosing (pun intended) the firefighters received?

In fact, other public sector employees being asked to make concessions to their employers can now cite the Ann Arbor Fire Department as an example of how concessions mean nothing when it comes to preventing layoffs.

So now the city administration has started a media campaign complaining about all the money they have to spend on employee health care. They were right there at the bargaining table when these benefits were negotiated. In fact, they love being at the bargaining table because they draw out the negotiations until years after contracts expire.

Public sector employees negotiate multiple year contracts. The city drags these negotiations out - usually until just before the expiration date of the very contract they are negotiating. Therefore, the wages and benefits are a little behind the general economy because they are negotiating for years gone by. While the economy may rise and fall sharply, public sector employees are always a few years behind, with much more gradual ups and downs.

Please understand public service employees don't enter their careers to get rich. Police officers, firefighters, other city service providers and teachers serve the taxpayers.

They do their jobs and provide valuable services in exchange for a middle class income, decent benefits, and job security. Perhaps they become rich in the coin of the soul for serving their fellow man, but they do not amass great monetary wealth.

So in November, a depleted police department will move in to the new building complete with the lovely art outside. There will be plenty of room in the office areas because there won’t be enough cops to fill the seats.

Perhaps it is time for Ann Arbor to reassess its budgetary priorities.

Lock it up, don’t leave it unattended, be aware and watch out for your neighbors.

Rich Kinsey is a retired Ann Arbor police detective sergeant who now blogs about crime and safety for AnnArbor.com.