Politics & Government
Recommendations of Consolidation Study Include Patrol Reductions in Grosse Pointe Park, City
The findings of a study that took nearly a year to complete were presented Friday to the city councils for Grosse Pointe Park and the City of Grosse Pointe. The biggest savings to be had is through staffing reductions.
In a presentation early Friday to the Grosse Pointe Park and City of Grosse Pointe councils, consolidation of the public safety departments is a possibility. The savings come through staff reductions that are solely based on the crime statistics that exist for both cities.
The presenter, Thomas Wieczorek, the director of the International Center for Public Safety Management in Washington D.C., repeatedly noted the unique conditions of the Park and the City.
Among the unique features: the cities border Detroit and consolidation has already been achieved between police and fire as public safety departments. Wieczorek also highlighted the public perception factor, saying it would have an impact.
In total, he provided 16 recommendations to the cities, most of which revolve around administrative needs, such as establishing an authority to oversee such a project that would have taxing and decision-making powers.
He projected consolidation could save the cities about $1.2 million, which comes through staff reductions and changes in the operational structure for road patrol, detectives and fire inspections.
In his presentation, Wieczorek used a power point to highlight the structure being proposed, which calls for two patrol officers to work in each city at any given time. Two supervisors would also be working the same shifts.
He also planned for a "power shift" that would allow more staff to be on-hand for peak hours to increase the number of officers available to respond to calls.
Both Directors of Public Safety--David Hiller in the Park and Stephen Poloni in the City--said the operational plan is based on statistics that do not take into account all of the contributing factors.
The plan does not account for vacations or illnesses, they said.
Both acknowledge that there are efficiencies that could be achieved through consolidation, but the particular plan presented Friday is not exactly it. Poloni said the presentation and study are a good place to start the conversation, noting it "gives council a framework" from which to begin.
"Manpower is our number one concern," Hiller said. "We can't operate public safety in Grosse Pointe Park and Grosse Pointe City on statistics only. It wouldn't meet the level of security that residents demand."
Bordering Detroit is one of the major factors that was anecdotally noted in the report and during Wieczorek's presentation but not included in the workload analysis that calls for the reduction in staffing. According to the statistics, Wieczorek said the workload does not merit the number of officers currently on staff.
Throughout the meeting, Grosse Pointe Park Mayor Palmer Heenan repeatedly highlighted the "overstaffed" department.
Hiller said the value of police presence is not measurable. It's a deterrent that is hopefully preventing crimes, he said.
The public safety departments for years have highlighted their ability to maintain low crime statistics in their communities despite neighboring the high-crime neighbor, Detroit. Part of the strategy has been to patrol borders heavily, which Patch has reported on in the past.
"I'm not comfortable that I'd be able to provide the same or better service to the community," Hiller said of the study recommendations. "Consolidation can be done but it needs to be done practically."
Hiller said he's not critical of the study or even the people who did it but basing the recommendations solely on the statistics does not address the community's needs.
Of the 188 studies Wieczorek has completed on consolidation, this is the first study on actual public safety departments that area already joint police and fire officers, he said.
Among the other recommendations
- Update the fire vehicles in the Park and the City, with the heavy equipment remaining in the Park and a "rapid response vehicle" equipped with foam to be housed in the City
- Reduce the current staffing by 20 percent
- Even if consolidation of the departments does not happen, consolidate the detectives bureaus into one
- Reduce the detective bureau to two detectives to serve both cities
- Negotiate into the contracts the ability to hire part-time officers
The reception of the study findings was mixed. Some council members questioned the recommendations and some questioned the staffing levels.
Park councilman Dan Clark told Wieczorek he was surprised that the savings came through cuts in staffing. "I thought we would get efficiencies. That's not what we are seeing," he said.
There were a handful of residents in attendance, including City resident Jon Hartz, who questioned why a meeting about such an important topic was scheduled for 8 a.m. on a Friday when most people have to work and with little notice.
Mayor Dale Scrace said the intent of Friday's meeting was to allow the presentation of the study results to be given to the city council members. He also said the intent was not to exclude the public and if anyone decides to move forward with such a consolidation, it would include public hearings before it could be implemented.
There were a handful of public safety officers also in attendance. They exchanged looks when Wieczorek talked about the officers workloads and the structure.
For now, the first plan for the city councils is to pass a resolution in the coming weeks to preserve rights to grant monies awarded to start consolidation. City Manager Pete Dame said the communities were granted $209,000 to use toward the consolidation but a date is nearing that will make those funds null without some action. Passing the resolution does not mean the consolidation is happening it simply preserves the cities' rights to use it should officials decide it is the correct route.
In the bigger picture of consolidation, making it happen is something that will likely take years because of all the behind-the-scenes work that is needed, such as an actuarial study related to the pension plans and how to combine them.
The Park and the City are already consolidating their dispatch operations. That agreement was reached earlier this year and is expected to be completed by Sept. 1. Hiller said Friday the planning and organizing is still on schedule.
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