Official's false statements
Never in our combined 60-plus years of service to Bloomfield Township did we ever think we would need to reply to the totally false statements of an elected official. In regards to the social media posts by trustee Dani Walsh, we feel the residents should have the correct facts. Plante Moran came up with $6.4 - $7.4 million in proposed cuts to programs and departments if all of their recommendations were implemented, which included 10 fewer police officers, eight fewer firefighters and outsourcing dispatch as well as cutting back the general fund contribution to the road department. When the survey showed these items were not acceptable to the residents the proposed potential savings came to approximately $600,000.
The two percent raises were negotiated between the township and the employees. With less than four percent unemployment in Michigan, we are having a difficult time hiring and retaining good employees. By taking away negotiated raises or looking at pay freezes you will see an exodus of good employees.
The department heads' vehicles are compensation benefits. The department heads in Bloomfield Township are some of the best in the state and are the leaders within their fields. They will not have a problem finding other more highly compensated employment when you start taking things away from them.
You might want to understand the economics behind our health care plan and how we have saved far more money with our current plan than we could have with the employees paying 20 percent of the premium.
No matter how many times you continually state this is not a public safety issue, we will state unequivocally it is a public safety issue. Over and above the millages that support police, fire and dispatch the general fund puts another $6.67 million dollars into our operations. If the money isn’t there the only way to continue is to downsize our operations.
Ultimately we feel the board is doing the right thing. They are educating the community with the correct facts and letting the voters decide what is important to them. We hope you would do the same.
Scott McCanham
Police Department Chief
Michael Morin
Fire Department Chief
Bloomfield Township
