By David Fleet

Editor

Atlas Twp.-By a 5-0 vote on Monday night the township board of trustees OK’d a new contract with the Genesee County Sheriff Department. Township Supervisor Shirley Kautman-Jones, Clerk Tere Onica, Trustee Patrick Major, Township Treasurer Ann Marie Moore and Trustee Barry June voted yes.

The new two-year $586, 577 contract, effective Jan. 1, 2017 through Dec. 31, 2018 with the sheriff department, included four deputies along with funding for a detective-sergeant, split between Fenton and the township. Terms of the contract include costs for police protection will not exceed what is generated by the millage from the township and Village of Goodrich homeowners, reported Shirley Kautman-Jones. The cost of the previous contract was $565,000.

“It’s an estimated base contract that can fluctuate,” said Jones. “Keep in mind that if there’s a big accident on M-15 and it requires more manpower, it’s going to cost. The contract is not a hard number.”

The new contract, which jumped about $21,000 compared to the previous deal, is funded by a 2.1 millage OK’d in May 2014, by a vote of 576 yes to 382 no. A township taxpayer with a $100,000 home pays about $105 per year for police protection.. The millage replaced the 1 mill levy along with $50 for improved lots and $25 for unimproved lots that expired in 2012. The four year millage which will expire in 2017 is expected to be a ballot next year.

Genesee County Undersheriff Chris Swanson was pleased with the new contract.

“We’ve been partners with Atlas Township for more than 20 years and it’s the best deal on the market for full-time police,” said Swanson. “It’s Cadillac service with a Chevy price. Keep in mind there’s no profit built in for us. In 2013 the deputies took a 10 percent pay cut, with no raises as health costs escalate. Like any contract, your cost is in personnel. Where else are you going to have full-time police for less than $600,000 per year?”

The township established a contract with the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department about 16 years ago, funded then by 1 mill from area property owners. Since 2007 the cost for police protection has risen from $432,205 to $586, 577 in 2017, about a 35 percent increase. Residents of Vienna Township pay about $1 million a year for eight deputies to cover the area, while Fenton Township funds about $667,655 each year for five full-time deputies and a part-time detective. Hurley Medical Center in Flint also has a contract for five deputies; the Genesee Intermediate School District has a deputy along with a K-9 and the Genesee Health System also has a deputy.

“It’s amazing what we get down with four deputies,” added Swanson. “That’s the power of having a contract with the sheriff’s office and a great relationship with the community—they are our eyes and ears.”