Maintaining and enhancing Oxford Township’s law enforcement staffing levels is what the Nov. 4 general election boils down to for Oakland County Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Patterson.
‘It’s really kind of simple in my head,? said Patterson, who commands the Oxford substation. ‘I want to serve the public and fight crime. It’s hard to do that without bodies.?
Township residents living outside the village are being asked to vote on a five-year, 3.9152-mill police tax designed to do three things ? 1) maintain existing staffing levels for the next few years; 2) change the substation’s command structure to increase the level and quality of officer supervision; and 3) add two deputies by 2019.
If approved by voters, the levy would begin with the December 2015 tax collection and end with the December 2019 collection.
It’s expected to generate $2.36 million in revenue during its first year.
Patterson noted ‘there’s not really that much overhead? at the substation, so the tax revenue it receives is ‘pretty much delegated to (providing) police officers.?
He explained the substation’s staffing has simply not kept pace with the township’s growing population.
When the sheriff’s office began providing law enforcement services to the township in 2000, it was staffed by 11 officers ? a sergeant, a patrol investigator and nine deputies ? to serve a population of 12,467 (not including the village).
Fourteen years later, the Oxford substation is staffed by 15 officers ? one sergeant, two patrol investigators and 12 deputies ? to serve a population of 17,647 (not including the village) based on a July 2014 estimate from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.
The ratio of full-time officers to residents has declined. The township had 0.88 officers per 1,000 residents in 2000. Today, it has 0.85 officers per 1,000 residents.
‘It’s kind of hard to really meet the needs (of the community) if you’re going backwards with staffing levels,? Patterson said.
According to the sheriff’s office, the average officer-to-resident ratios are 1.8 per 1,000 in the Midwest, 2.07 per 1,000 in Michigan and 1.86 per 1,000 in Oakland County.
As the community’s population continues to grow, the number of calls for service are increasing and if the substation has a ‘limited staff? to handle them, Patterson said response times will increase as well.
‘It will take officers longer to get there (when they’re needed),? he said.
Officers will be stretched so thin due to the increased demand for service, they will end up doing more ‘reactive policing? as opposed to ‘proactive policing,? according to Patterson.
Reactive policing is responding to calls, taking reports and investigating crimes after they occur.
Proactive policing involves frequently and routinely patrolling streets and neighborhoods in an effort to prevent crime by, for example, stopping home invasions before they take place and arresting drunk drivers before they cause accidents, Patterson said.
‘It’s a proven tool to keep the crime rate down,? the sergeant said. ‘I’d rather have enough people to throw out there on the street to stop (a crime) before it happens than investigate it after the fact.?
If approved, the millage would allow the substation to add two more road patrol deputies ? one in 2017 and another in 2019.
That would bring the sheriff’s substation back up to its 2005 staffing level when it had 17 officers. At that time, the township had 1.1 officers per 1,000 residents.
‘It’s a step in the right direction,? Patterson said. ‘But you’re still kind of behind where you’d like to be. We’ve had a lot of growth in 10 years and Oxford’s starting to boom again.?
If two more officers were added as proposed, Oxford’s contract with the sheriff’s office would be an estimated $2.6 million in 2019. If no staffing changes whatsoever were made, Oxford’s contract would be an estimated $2.27 million in five years.
Approval of the millage would also allow for a change in the substation’s command structure beginning next year.
One of the patrol investigator positions would be nixed in favor of adding a lieutenant to serve as substation commander.
The existing detective sergeant position, occupied by Patterson, would then be used to supervise a split shift from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.
This would provide a second-in-command to aid the lieutenant in supervising employees, but still give the township an officer on the street to handle calls, serve citizens and investigate cases as needed.
Patterson, who only works the day shift Monday through Friday, said a second supervisor is needed to oversee the other shifts.
‘How do you supervise a 24-hour operation when there’s only one guy?? he said. ‘It’s just about impossible. You can’t be everywhere at once.?
Upgrading a patrol investigator position to a lieutenant would increase the 2015 sheriff’s contract by $35,459, from $1.996 million to $2.032 million.
A citizen asked this reporter why the substation couldn’t simply have two sergeants as opposed to paying the higher cost for a lieutenant’s position.
Patterson explained the structure of the sheriff’s office is based on rank and following the orders of those above you.
‘It’s a paramilitary organization. You have to have somebody who actually outranks the other person to be in charge,? he said. ‘Technically, you don’t have to follow the orders of a person (who’s) the same rank. Anybody who was in the military understands that.?
The 3.9152-mill amount does not represent an increase over what property owners paid on their December 2013 tax bills.
But it does represent an increase over what they will pay on their December 2014 bills.
That’s because in November 2012, township voters approved a separate 1-mill police tax to be added to their existing 2.9152-mill police tax.
This enabled the substation to increase its staffing from 13 to 15 officers, the level it had from 2006 to 2010 before budget cuts were made due to declines in property values and tax revenues.
But this 1-mill tax was only for two years and it expired with the December 2013 levy.
So, in December 2014, township taxpayers will pay 2.9152 mills for police services and the municipality will dip into the police budget reserves (i.e. fund balance) in order to cover the difference and maintain existing staffing levels.
‘If you’re already dipping into the fund balance to try to maintain what you’ve got, you’re taking from your savings account and putting it into your checking account to (cover) your checks,? Patterson said. ‘Eventually, you’re going to run out of money and (the township’s) going to start cutting bodies again. We don’t need that here, trust me. We’re busy enough as it is.?
Because the proposed 3.9152-mill request is a combination of the two previous taxes, legally, it must be labeled in the ballot language as an increase even though it’s what residents were previously paying.
Overall, Patterson is confident township residents will continue to give the sheriff’s office what it needs to provide them with adequate protection.
‘I think this community’s been very supportive in the 14 years we’ve been out here,? the sergeant said. ‘I’ve seen nothing but extreme support from the community in reference to the sheriff’s department since I’ve been out here.?