Pittsfield Township officials say proposed public safety millage will still keep cost for services low

Officials are asking voters to support a renewal of and proposed increase to the township's public safety millage on May 3. The current 1.0 mill levy for public safety expires at the end of 2011 and would be replaced with a 1.95-mill tax starting in 2012.

If passed, the 10-year millage would cost the owner of a home with a $100,000 taxable value about $195 annually, or roughly twice what homeowners currently pay. Harshberger said the owner of an average home in Pittsfield Township with a taxable value of $110,000 would pay $16.66 per month instead of the current $8.54. When levied, officials expect the tax to raise $3.3 million.

According to Pittsfield Township officials’ data, Superior Township residents currently pay 4.99 mills, Northfield Township residents pay 6.42 mills and Ypsilanti Township residents pay 8.18 mills for public safety.

Harshberger stressed that the public safety millage in Pittsfield Township covers funding for police, fire and dispatch. The millage was first put into place into 1987 and its rate last increased in 1991.

“It is very important to identify that you are getting a full service, township supported public safety millage … that has not seen an increase in last 20 years,” Harshberger said.

He also said the cost of providing a full time public safety employee in Pittsfield Township is less than in several neighboring townships. When dividing the number of full time public safety employees by the public safety budget, an employee in Pittsfield Township costs $110,291, Harshberger said. Superior Township's cost per public safety employee is $147,106, according to Pittsfield Township's figures.

Harshberger said 88 percent of the township’s $7.9 million public safety operating budget covered salaries and benefits. Again, Harshberger said that figure is relatively low compared to some neighboring police agencies, and he said that affords his department the opportunity to implement new community-oriented programs and police proactively.

“I think this shows that we maintain a funding level that allows us to maintain many of the programs that I talked about tonight,” he said. “... We’re able to concentrate on problem-solving issues and improve quality of life for our residents, so for us it’s a fortunate opportunity that we have.”

Pittsfield Township Director of Public Safety Matt Harshberger discusses a proposed increase to the public safety millage rate on Tuesday.

Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com

Last year, most township public safety personnel signed a five-year contract with zero-percent wage increases. The department has not filled four vacant positions, ranging from dispatcher to deputy fire commander, collectively saving $182,789 this year.

The current millage supports 33 positions in police, fire and dispatch. The millage covered five officers and a community coordinator position in 2003. But at that time the Public Safety Department enjoyed support from the township’s general fund, which is no longer feasible in current economic conditions, township officials say.

Land purchases from 2006 to 2008 depleted roughly half of the township’s general fund balance, and the debt from those purchases continues to burden the budget, officials said. Harshberger said the township is also continuing its transformation from a more rural to a more urban community, and calls for public safety service continue to rise as revenues decrease.

Township officials also pointed to the decline on the general fund's earned interest, which dropped from $799,583 in 2007 to $13,332 in 2010. Over the last 10 years, the township has also seen its state shared revenue drop by approximately $998,000.

Failure to pass the millage will result in cuts to police and fire service and staffing, Harshberger said.

“It will result in lay offs and we will have to sit down and figure out ‘What services do we cut and what sort of service level can we maintain?’” he said.

An audience member questioned what would happen if voters approved the millage and Pittsfield Township chose to partner regionally with a police department such as Ann Arbor. Officials there are considering more lay offs.The resident expressed concern that township police resources would be used to assist the financially struggling Ann Arbor Police Department under such an arrangement.

Township Supervisor Mandy Grewal said the township’s department is much different than Ann Arbor’s in that it’s force is younger and doesn’t face as many challenges with legacy costs. She said the township will continue to partner and engage with regional jurisdictions, but will remain committed to its own residents’ safety first.

Township officials scheduled four more meetings forums on the millage request:
• March 24, 6:30-8 p.m., at Carpenter Elementary School, 4250 Central Blvd.
• April 14, 6:30-8 p.m., at Harvest Elementary School, 155 Campus Parkway.
• April 17, 1-3 p.m., at the Pittsfield Township Open House.
• April 26, 5:30-7:30 p.m., at the Pittsfield Township Parks and Seniors Building, 701 Ellsworth Road.

The township has set up a website with more information on the millage.

In the May election, voters in Washtenaw County will also decide on the Washtenaw Intermediate School District's special education millage,  police and fire millages in Dexter Township, a police protection millage in Northfield Township and a fire millage in Sharon Township.