Farmington

Could Farmington’s dispatch be dispatched?

By David Wallace
C & G Staff Writer

» Click on image to view full size « Photo by David Wallace Some Farmington residents are concerned that the city may permanently leave open the dispatcher’s seat at the Farmington Public Safety Department in order to merge dispatch and detention facilities with Farmington Hills in a cost-saving move. Photo by David Wallace Some Farmington residents are concerned that the city may permanently leave open the dispatcher’s seat at the Farmington Public Safety Department in order to merge dispatch and detention facilities with Farmington Hills in a cost-saving move.

FARMINGTON — A group of residents concerned that the Public Safety Department’s dispatch and jail services could move to Farmington Hills caused an unscheduled discussion at the Farmington City Council meeting Feb. 6.

When Farmington and Farmington Hills applied for state Economic Vitality Incentive Program funding — the replacement for state-shared revenue — they needed to show the state how they collaborate with other governments, along with plans for future collaborations. That resolution included a closing that the communities planned “to continue efforts to implement” three shared services: the Grand River Corridor Improvement Authority, information technology, and public safety dispatch and inmate housing.

About a dozen people, including a few dispatchers, attended the meeting to talk about merging the dispatch and jail services. The meeting was short on specifics, including what would happen to the city’s dispatchers, but Farmington’s dispatch and detention facilities would move to the Farmington Hills Police Department at 11 Mile and Orchard Lake roads.

Farmington’s dispatchers, in addition to answering calls and sending help, monitor the Public Safety Department’s holding cells.

City Manager Vince Pastue said that combining dispatch would lessen Farmington’s services, but continuing revenue declines motivate the consolidation discussion.

“With no disrespect to anybody with dispatch, they do a great job and serve a very important function, but now that we’re really getting into cutting services, that’s the one area where from a consolidation standpoint that most communities have done reasonably well,” said Pastue.

Farmington Hills already provides dispatching services to the Franklin-Bingham Farms Police Department.

“You still get professional public safety dispatch. It’s all the other little extras that you won’t be getting that goes with it,” said Pastue. For example, City Hall would not be open 24 hours, seven days a week, as it is now with dispatchers watching the lobby and front desk.

Pastue said consolidation would save Farmington between $75,000 and $100,000 annually.

“That’s one you can take to the bank. That’s the range it’s going to be,” said Pastue.

He said that inmate housing is a “big concern” if consolidation occurs, because the city does not want its public safety officers off the road for a long time delivering prisoners to 11 Mile and Orchard Lake.

“You don’t want them up there indefinitely,” said Pastue. “So those are the kind of operational details that still need to be finalized.”

All 911 calls would go to Farmington Hills.

“And then we would have to look at operationally how we would take non-emergency calls coming in (to the Farmington Public Safety Department) and route them through our administrative system and even through the public safety command structure,” said Pastue.

Mayor Tom Buck said that he saw three options to improve Farmington’s finances: increase the city’s millage rate, cut staff or compensation and benefits further, and sell some property that the city owns, such as the old 47th District courthouse.

Pastue cautioned that if the city sold the old courthouse, it is a one-time revenue influx, and he would recommend using it to pay down the city’s debt, rather than try to live off it for a year.

Councilwoman JoAnne McShane asked about a dedicated public safety millage. Pastue said such a millage could start an us-and-them mentality between city departments, harming the good chemistry he perceives within the city’s workforce.

“If we were to do something, I would prefer raising the operating millage, if that was the route that people wanted to go,” said Pastue.

He worried that further public safety wage and benefit cuts would make the city uncompetitive.

“As far as cutting other areas, I think you have to have a well-balanced city. I think senior services, recreational programs, are important, and we’ve actually seen reductions in those,” said Pastue.

Not everyone spoke, but some residents thought the city should try to preserve the services.

“I think I would want to keep my services and do what you have to do to keep those services,” said resident Robert Brow, father of a public safety officer. “I know other departments that have gone to this. It’s a mess.”

“If we do away with our jail and with our dispatching unit here, I don’t think this is a long term fix for some of the problems that we’re talking about and discussing here. I personally — I’m speaking entirely for myself — I would pay additional tax dollars to keep the level of safety in this community,” said resident Greg Garden.

Maria Putt, who retired from the Public Safety Department, thought consolidation was the wrong choice.

“I’m a very frugal person. If I thought getting rid of dispatch and lockup was the answer to this problem, I would tell you so. But it is not. We’ve studied it before, because it’s just not dispatch — it’s response, it’s lockup,” said Putt.

“I feel that this is a mistake and I’m very tentative, because it feels like if we go in, it’ll be an irreversible mistake,” said resident Tim McGee. “We need more public hearings. We need more public comments.”

“It will slowly but surely chip away at our local control, because the control won’t be here. It will be up on 11 Mile,” said Putt.

Pastue told the people gathered that the city still has “a ways to go” on the consolidation plan.

“(It’s) still under study, and your input has been very valuable,” added Buck.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer David Wallace at dwallace@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1053.