When you dial 911,
you expect police to be there right away. But the Ontwa Township/Edwardsburg
police chief worries that might not happen if voters are confused by two
questions about the department on next week's primary ballot.
One millage question
asks voters to renew a proposition that expired in 2011. That taxpayer money
already helps keep the Ontwa Township/Edwardsburg police department running and
officers on the roads, but it lost by 13 votes on the May ballot.
A second millage
question is asking voters to approve a new proposition that would increase taxes
for the next four years. That additional money would help fill at least one
position lost about a year ago when two police department employees lost their
jobs and all officers on the department took a 10 percent pay cut due to budget
issues.
...
The proposed tax
increase is 1 mill, meaning property valued at $150,000 would be taxed $150 a
year if the measure passes.
But Donnelly said he
has a better solution for public safety that he claims would save taxpayer
dollars if the millage proposals were both shot down.
“Just like other
townships, we could pay the sheriff’s department. Not only do they have to
represent us for free, but we could also pay $100,000 and have a squad car and
an officer on duty here and have better protection,” he said.
Unless a sheriff’s
deputy was stationed in the Edwardsburg area, Wray said response times are
generally about 20 minutes because those officers are generally elsewhere in the
county.
...
