ALLEGAN, Mich. — The City of Allegan will not dissolve its police department after considering the move as part of a larger budget discussion started this month.
City Manager Joel Dye floated the idea during the April 14 council meeting among several options to reduce spending to cover the cost of future infrastructure projects.
The city was reviewing whether to contract with the Allegan County Sheriff's Office to provide policing for Allegan, but according to Dye the idea was met with strong opposition from the community.
"Yesterday, our community came out loud and clear to support retaining our Police Department as is," Dye said. "We asked for resident input, and we listened. Contracting with the county for police services is no longer an option on the table."
Allegan held three listening sessions on Tuesday, with more than 100 people attending, according to Dye.
"The city is operationally sound, but we still need to raise approximately $11 million over the next decade to repair roads, in addition to costs to replace lead water service lines, maintain our parks and other important infrastructure projects," said Dye. "We simply don't have money in our current budget for continued investment in our City's critical infrastructure."
"We thank Joel Dye and City staff for their diligent work in responding to the City Council's request to explore funding options for future infrastructure improvements," said Allegan Mayor Traci Perrigo. "We look forward to engaging the community in constructive dialogue as we discuss how to fund these needs in our City."
If Allegan had dissolved the police department, it could have saved nearly $750,000 in the first year, and more than $460,000 each year after, according to the city manager. However, city leaders were not happy that any deputies assigned to patrol in Allegan would spend up to a quarter of there time in another community. Dye called that a nonstarter.
"We are deeply appreciative of the outpouring of support for the City of Allegan Police Department," Chief Jay Gibson said. "We look forward to moving beyond this conversation as we continue to serve and protect our community."
Allegan will continue looking at other options for reducing spending, including raising more funding for infrastructure through a millage.
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