Green Oak Board Looks for Plan in Wake of Millage Defeats

In the wake of of the Green Oak Township police and fire millages at the polls, the Board of Trustees discussed what course of action to take at its meeting Wednesday night. 

After discussion, the board directed Police Chief Bob Brookins and Fire Chief Bill Steele to come up with a plan to stretch out what money the two departments have remaining. The current five-year millage levies of 1.49 for the police department and 1.40 for the fire department expire at the end of this year.

for 2.5 mills to fund police operations and 2 mills for the fire department for the next five years.  

Both were defeated, the official results - as certified by the board of canvassers - showing 840 no votes to 686 yes for the police proposal and 796 no votes to 733 yes for the fire issue. 

Township Clerk Michael Sedlak says  the police and fire departments will run out of funds by  the end of this month. At that point the township - as it does each year - will lend them money from the general fund to operate until tax revenues arrive from the December levy. 

At Wednesday's meeting, Sedlak told the audience that reports that the two departments had enough funds with which to operate through 2012 were erroneous.

"The reality is the board worked very hard and carefully and came up with the minimum necessary to keep the departments operating at their current levels," Sedlak says. "There was no fluff, we were totally honest in what we requested." 

Sedlak says at the current level of spending, the police department will run out of funds in May 2012 and fire department a month later. 

"My expectation is that (the police and fire chiefs) would want to spread out whatever funds they have left," he says. Sedlak says whether that would involve layoffs is for the chiefs, and not the board or him, to decide.

The township public safety committee - composed of board members Susan Daugherty, Wallace Qualls and Tracey Edry - will meet with the fire and police chiefs to devise a course of action and make a formal recommendation to the Board.