The fate of Addison Township’s one and only police millage will be decided by voters Nov. 7.
‘This is the only police millage that is available for Addison Township right now,? according to Oakland County Sheriff’s Sgt. Pete Burkett. ‘If it doesn’t pass, at this point, the township has no financial means to support a police department after the end of March next year.?
Voters are being asked to approve a four-year, 3.5-mill tax for police services. If approved, the money would be used to support the township’s contract with the sheriff’s department.
‘Without this millage, we will have no police presence other than what may or may not be available from the state police on an emergency basis,? said township Supervisor Bob Koski. ‘There’s no contingency plan. What else are we going to do? Certainly the township is not going to start a police force. We couldn’t even begin to afford one.?
While the state police may ‘possibly answer some emergency calls? and ‘maybe some traffic crash calls,? said Sgt. Burkett, who commands the Addison substation. ‘They won’t be doing direct patrol in the area.?
‘They are not going to be there on a 24-7 basis at all,? the sergeant explained. ‘Your everyday, basic police-type services, they’re not going to be here. You’re going to be pretty much on your own.?
In August, voters failed an eight-year, 3.5-mill request for police services by a margin of 435-365.
This time around things are looking better for the police millage, according to Koski.
‘There’s an awful lot of signs up supporting the police millage,? he said. ‘The few people that I’ve talked to are reluctant about taxes, but I haven’t met anyone that says we don’t need any police. I would say it’s generally looking more favorable than it was when it was defeated back in August.?
‘I really do believe it will go through this time,? the supervisor added.
Next week, voters are again being asked to replace and consolidate the two previous police millages ? both of which expired with the December 2005 levy ? with this new single millage with a four-year life.
In 1986, Addison voters approved a 2.5-mill police tax. They passed a second 1-mill police tax in 2002. Both are now gone.
In their last year, these two millages were levied at a combined rate of 2.8750 mills due to rollbacks mandated by the state’s Headlee Amendment.
Because the 3.5-mill tax being requested of voters is higher than the rate last levied, the proposal does represent a tax increase.
However, the 3.5 mills also represents what Addison voters previously approved for police services.
Treasurer Dan Alberty noted the township board will only levy what’s needed, so the full 3.5 mills would probably not be assessed for the first year or two.
Sgt. Burkett, commander of the Addison sheriff’s substation, said it will not be used to ‘double? the number of deputies or build a bigger substation.
‘We just want to keep the status quo,? he said. ‘No staffing increases are planned.?
And that’s not to say Addison’s substation is by any means overstaffed. The township’s current contract pays for six deputies and one sergeant.
‘Fifty-seven percent of the time (or four days a week) in this township there’s one officer on duty for 36 square miles,? Burkett said.
The other three days a week there are two deputies working per shift.
Despite it’s small staff, the substation receives plenty of backup.
‘We get a ton of help from the surrounding townships, from Oakland, Oxford, Orion,? Burkett said. ‘They’re in here on a daily basis assisting my deputies on their calls or if my deputies are tied up, they’re coming in and answering calls here in Addison Township.?
Between January and August of this year, the Addison substation logged 1,803 calls ranging from crimes to assisting citizens. The substation has performed 293 citizen assists as of August.
‘Addison’s really getting a lot of bang for their buck right now as far as the support we’re getting from the surrounding townships,? the sergeant noted.
Add to this, all the resources available to the substation from the sheriff’s departments special units and headquarters in Pontiac.
‘You have the backing of a thousand-plus employees down in Pontiac, everything from our records bureau to our forensic crime lab,? Burkett said. ‘There’s nothing like it in the State of Michigan . . .unless you’re in a city like Detroit where you have a huge police department.?
The fact that Addison is a rural township shouldn’t lull people into thinking there’s no crime in their community, Burkett noted.
‘Unfortunately, crimes appear to be increasing everywhere,? he said. ‘There’s some instances where rural areas are actually not as safe as city areas.?
Between January and August of this year, Addison had 41 larcenies, 22 burglaries, 39 assaults, six instances of criminal sexual conduct, 34 incidents involving property damage and 55 reports of disorderly conduct.
And things haven’t slowed down with the end of summer.
‘September and October were very busy months for us,? Burkett said.
the first year or two.
Sgt. Burkett, commander of the Addison sheriff’s substation, said will not be used to ‘double? the number of deputies or build a bigger substation.
‘We just want to keep the status quo,? he said. ‘No staffing increases are planned.?
And that’s not to say Addison’s substation is by any means overstaffed. The township’s current contract pays for six deputies and one sergeant.
‘Fifty-seven percent of the time (or four days a week) in this township there’s one officer on duty for 36 square miles,? Burkett said.
The other three days a week there are two deputies working per shift.
Despite it’s small staff, the substation receives plenty of backup.
‘We get a ton of help from the surrounding townships, from Oakland, Oxford, Orion,? Burkett said. ‘They’re in here on a daily basis assisting my deputies on their calls or if my deputies are tied up, they’re coming in and answering calls here in Addison Township.?
Between January and August of this year, the Addison substation logged 1,803 calls ranging from crimes to citizen assist requests.
‘Addison’s really getting a lot of bang for their buck right now as far as the support we’re getting from the surrounding townships,? the sergeant noted.
Add to this, all the resources available to the substation from the sheriff’s departments special units and headquarters in Pontiac.
‘You have the backing of a thousand-plus employees down in Pontiac, everything from our records bureau to our forensic crime lab,? Burkett said. ‘There’s nothing like it in the State of Michigan . . .unless you’re in a city like Detroit where you have a huge police department.?
The fact that Addison is a rural township shouldn’t lull people into thinking there’s no crime in their community, Burkett noted.
‘Unfortunately, crimes appear to be increasing everywhere,? he said. ‘There’s some instances where rural areas are actually not as safe as city areas.?
‘Home invasion-type crimes are actually more of a rural area type crime than they are in a city atmosphere,? according to Burkett. ‘Those crimes can be greater or are greater in rural areas because the houses sit way off the roads.?
‘Thieves come to rural areas seeking out places where it appears there’s no one around and no one can see them,? the sergeant explained. ‘Houses are actually more apt to be broken into out here then they would be in a city area.?