Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Public Safety Workshop

25. April 2005 • Scott Trudeau
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County Workshops Follows Up February Millage Failure
Tuesday Night is the First Opportunity to Comment on the Options

What: Ann Arbor City Workshop on Public Safety
Where: Forsythe Middle School
When: Tuesday, April 26, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.
Who: Facilitation by Stephanie Anderson and Conan Smith
Presentation Outline by County Administrator Bob Guenzel
You! We need to hear from city and township residents about your priorities, values and concerns.

Tuesday evening the County Board of Commissioners will host the first in a series of public forums and workshops to gather input on strategies to follow up the failure of a February millage proposal aimed at expanding public safety services. There are a lot of critical questions to answer in this process . .

Should We Expand the Jail by 96 Beds?
Should We Have a Metropolitan or Regional Police Force?
Do Townships Pay Enough for Sheriff Services?
Do We Need More Mental Health Treatment for Inmates?

How Would You Spend $6M a Year?

The County Commission Will Take Action This Summer!
This is our chance to have a say in designing the solution to our public safety challenges!

Tuesday’s workshop will outline the mandated public safety services that the county must provide, describe the initial draft proposal and funding mechanisms put forth by the County administration, and give residents an opportunity to discuss and prioritize their public safety interests and concerns. The Board of Commissioners currently plans to collect public input through the month of May and make a determination at their first June meeting.

You Don’t Need To Be An Expert, Just A Concerned Citizen!
County officials are eager to learn about the perspectives of the citizens. After hearing several complaints that the February millage did not include sufficient public input early on, the Board has designed a more aggressive outreach strategy that is aimed at cataloguing citizen concerns to use in crafting the final solution.

Read Up on the Issue at these links below:

COUNTY DRAFT PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS
Public Safety and Justice Needs
This document outlines the administrator’s recommendations in five core areas including certain mandates services. They include 1) Bed space for inmates, 2) Programming as a means to reduce needed beds, 3)Infrastructure, 4) Safe and secure District Court, and 5) Security.

Public Safety and Justice Funding Alternatives and Recommendations
This documents outlines three possibilities for funding the needs identified in the document above, which will require approximately $6 million per year. The three alternatives include 1) cutting non-mandated general fund services like Head Start and Planning and Environment; 2)returning to the ballot with a scaled-back millage request of approximately 0.31 mills; and 3) phasing out township road patrol services.

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