By Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press
It’s the type of small town where police officers take time every week to help an elderly woman change her oxygen tanks.
But Gibraltar, a Downriver city the mayor compares to fictional Mayberry, has a tight budget. Last month, its council decided to outsource its police dispatching services to neighboring Rockwood.
The move would have saved the city of about 4,300 residents roughly $40,000.
But the plan did not go over well with residents. Two weeks later, the council reversed itself. For the time being, police dispatching will be handled by Gibraltar employees.
The cost-cutting attempt shows how potent the issue of local control of police can be across metro Detroit.
In the tri-county region, there are 76 cities, 42 townships and 13 villages. Most operate police departments, and police services swallow a big chunk of tax revenue. To save money, some departments are looking to outsource services. At least one department -- Clawson’s -- might go out of business.
But any moves are facing stiff resistance from union officials anxious about losing jobs and residents concerned about losing their civic identities.
“We all like to have pride in our police and fire departments,” said Gibraltar Mayor Richard Kuhn. “Everybody knows everybody here, and we like it that way.”
The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments released a report last fall that warned “community pride” may hinder efforts to regionalize, even though some regionalization might make economic sense.
Still, cash-starved communities are likely to continue looking for ways to share services, said Robert McMahon, manager of community and economic development for SEMCOG, which issued the report. Law enforcement is not exempt from consideration.
Later this month, for example, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano is expected to announce the creation of a 25-member commission to study how the tri-county region might consolidate jail operations.
“It just makes more sense,” Ficano said. “What you’re looking at is the reality of dollars not being there.”
Other communities are facing similar issues:
Hackel cited the consolidation of local SWAT teams into a county-wide unit as an example of improving and economizing. “We’re trying to consolidate to save money, and yet, be much more efficient and effective,” Hackel said. For now, the county is doing a preliminary study on dispatch services.
In Gibraltar, there’s been no talk of outsourcing the police force of nine sworn officers.
The city has an annual budget of about $3.1 million; $1.3 million goes to police services, said Mayor Kuhn. Like other cities across metro Detroit, it has seen its share of state funds decline -- the city has lost about $119,000 over the past three years, Kuhn said.
Under the outsourcing plan, the city would also have had to shut the doors of the 24-hour department at 4 p.m. every day, though Gibraltar officers would have remained on patrol.
“That personal service would be lost,” said Police Chief Paul Lehr. “People sometimes come in late at night with a question or a concern, and an officer on the desk can help them.”
Lehr opposed the plan but said Gibraltar may one day have to outsource.
“We may be in the same boat next year,” he said. “I’m not saying outside dispatching is the best, but it may come down to that because we don’t have the funds. If the economy doesn’t turn around, it doesn’t look good.”