Almont Village and Twp. reach agreement

PD coverage remains the same for township residents

 

ALMONT — After months of haggling and offers back and forth, the Village of Almont and Almont Township have finally agreed on a new three-year pact for police coverage in the township.

The two sides had been hundreds of thousands of dollars apart when negotiations first began. On May 18, the township board held a special meeting to vote on the latest offer to the Village for police services.

The board voted unanimously to make a final and best offer of $735,000 with a 3% increase each year for a 3-yr. contract – totalling just over 2.1 million dollars.

According to board members, this was done so the Village council could add it to their agenda for the following night.

Prior to the meeting, Village Manager, Dale Kerbyson, had told the Tri-City Times the “last and final offer” from the village was $750,000.

However, the following evening, on May 19, the village board added the topic to their agenda and took action on it, after a brief discussion.

Council voted unanimously to accept the offer of $735,000 from the township.

While there are some lose ends to finalizing each entity’s budgets, approval of increased millage (for the township only) and the actual contract signing, the agreement is a done deal.

One of the key topics of conversation was the School Resource Officer at Almont and with the new contract, the schools will be receiving the same quality coverage they have come to expect.

During the township meeting on May 19, the board wasted little time in making a motion with the new amount.

It appeared members had agreed on their new offer prior to the meeting, as there was no discussion during the actual meeting.

Just a brief statement and a prepared motion that was approved by the entire board, agreeing to a three-year pact that escalates every year.

The township has asked for three things as part of the agreement. They asked the new agreement be fair and equitable to all involved.

They asked the village to be allowed to see financial updates on a quarterly basis and to collaborate together, to find potential grants that might be available to help with the funding of the police department.

Township officials acknowledged the police millage currently in place will have to increase to cover the additional cost for police coverage.

Currently, township taxpayers are paying 2.25 mills for police coverage. With the new agreement, that amount increases to as much as 2.75 mills which will generate approx. $740,000 in the first year.

Exact language of the agreement is being finalized. The current one-year contract is set to expire at the end of June.