By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
RIVERVIEW – Despite declining finances, officials here aren’t ready to ask Wayne County sheriff’s deputies to help police — at least not yet.
Residents asked the City Council Monday if budget cuts might create the need to ask the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office to patrols the city instead of local police officers. But Councilman James Trombley and colleagues said they aren’t considering the idea.
Resident Bill Prucknic said there has been discussion and speculation in the city about the pros and cons of having Wayne County do the police work.
“I think for such a big decision like that, it’s really something that the whole city should have an input into,” he said. “When I mentioned it last week to (Mayor Tim Durand), he said it was no option to have the Wayne County sheriffs (police the community) like in Mount Clemens.”
Durand did not attend Monday’s meeting.
Councilwoman Betty Priskorn said members haven’t discussed the possibility, “so that’s not even an option on the table right now.”
Prucknic said it will become an option next year, because the city’s only choices will be bankruptcy or a millage.
Trombley said department heads are searching for the city budget “with a fine tooth comb” at other options.
“I don’t think that you are going to find anyone – and I’m only speaking for myself – that is going to do that with our police officers here in Riverview,” he said.
Prucknic said no matter what other options are considered, the money won’t be there next year to balance the budget.
“So when you come back, you’re going to say we need to have an increase in the millage or we’re going to have to go bankrupt,” he said. “We might lose the (city) golf courses, we might lose the library, and we could be talking about this before that.
“This is an option. We need to have a discussion, whether you want it or not, the whole community should be involved in this.”
Trombley said if things get to that point — and he doesn’t believe they are anywhere close to what Prucknic was suggesting — sheriff patrols would be an option.
Prucknic recalled the council’s emergency meeting earlier this year because of the “need for a millage” to address the city’s “huge” deficit. He said when a proposed millage increase was turned down by voters, $600,000 was found in the budget, and that officials “got through” this year.
He doesn’t believe, however, that officials will have access to a similar amount of money next year.
Councilman Elmer Trombley said even if that proves true, he’s opposed to using county patrols.
“Before I’d ever consider Wayne County Sheriffs to take over this town, it will be a cold day in you-know-where,” he said. “Wayne County has a hard time taking care of itself now. You’ll never get my vote to get rid of the Riverview Police Department. My vote means something.”
“But your vote was to raise taxes,” Prucknic said. “That would be just like GM raising the price of the cars up when they were going bankrupt. That’s not the answer.”
“I’d rather raise my taxes than get rid of the Riverview police,” Elmer Trombley said.
Prucknic called on the council to hold a meeting with residents on the issue of balancing the upcoming city budget.
City Manager Dean Workman said the issue would be discussed at the city’s next budget hearing and invited Prucknic to attend.
“I would assume that if we can’t bring in the budget, then raising the millage will become an option that this council will look at doing,” Workman said. “As of right now, we’re balancing our budget and we’re doing fine.”
James Trombley said that when the last budget was turned down, budget cuts were made accordingly.
“It was tough,” he said. “We omitted jobs and things like that, but we made it. We didn’t increase the tax one penny to any resident here in the community.”
Prucknic countered that the city did use half a million dollars in the budget from the cable television company and $168,000 from the library.
James Trombley reiterated that the council did not pass a city tax increase.
Prucknic said again that officials would not have similar internal option’s for next year’s budget, but James Trombley said they would have to wait and see.
Prucknic wasn’t the only resident raising the idea of county patrols.
“I’m not saying that we should go with the Wayne County sheriffs,” said Chuck Bakhaus, “but we should explore all our options.”
Priskorn said after the meeting that the issue of replacing city officers with sheriff’s deputies had not even been considered.
“There’s never been any discussion,” she said. “That came out of the blue tonight. I don’t know where that came from.”
She added that members have been working diligently on the budget.
“We’re looking at revenue enhancement and budget reduction,” Priskorn said, adding that replacing city officers with county patrols would a last resort.
“We’re all trying to be very creative,” Priskorn said. “This is a time of cuts, cuts, cuts. We need to be creative. We need to be looking at what industry can we bring to this area, all of our communities working together to bring revenue in.
“You can’t just look at cuts. You really need to look at revenue enhancement also.”
Priskorn cited two “gems” in the city, its golf course and landfill, and said officials are looking at new forms of energy from their landfill not related to methane gas. She’s optimistic, however.
“You have to be in this environment,” she said. I’m afraid that when you close things down … you can only cut so much. We’re all working with the city manager.
“I don’t want the residents to think that this is something that we have on the table right now, because we don’t. We work very hard for the cuts that we did to make sure that we had a balanced budget this year.
“We have a great Police Department.”
Prucknic said again that officials would not have similar internal option’s for next year’s budget, but James Trombley said they would have to wait and see.
Prucknic wasn’t the only resident raising the idea of county patrols.
“I’m not saying that we should go with the Wayne County sheriffs,” said Chuck Bakhaus, “but we should explore all our options.”
Priskorn said after the meeting that the issue of replacing city officers with sheriff’s deputies had not even been considered.
“There’s never been any discussion,” she said. “That came out of the blue tonight. I don’t know where that came from.”
She added that members have been working diligently on the budget.
“We’re looking at revenue enhancement and budget reduction,” Priskorn said, adding that replacing city officers with county patrols would be a last resort.
“We’re all trying to be very creative,” Priskorn said. “This is a time of cuts, cuts, cuts. We need to be creative. We need to be looking at what industry can we bring to this area, all of our communities working together to bring revenue in.
“You can’t just look at cuts. You really need to look at revenue enhancement also.”
Priskorn cited two “gems” in the city, its golf course and landfill, and said officials are looking at new forms of energy from their landfill not related to methane gas. She’s optimistic, however.
“You have to be in this environment,” she said. I’m afraid that when you close things down … you can only cut so much. We’re all working with the city manager.
“I don’t want the residents to think that this is something that we have on the table right now, because we don’t. We work very hard for the cuts that we did to make sure that we had a balanced budget this year.
“We have a great Police Department.”