The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Village, townships partner for police service
Lodi, Bridgewater share resources with Manchester in deal
By Daniel Lai, Editor
PUBLISHED: January 3, 2008
In an effort to increase security while maintaining delicate operational budgets, Bridgewater Township, Manchester Village and Lodi Township have entered into an agreement for the staffing and deployment of additional Washtenaw County deputies.
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The agreement, which takes effect Sunday, will pool the resources of the municipalities to cover the cost of seven additional deputies.
"We began looking at combing our services two years ago," Village President Pat Vailliencourt, said. "Lodi indicated that they had some interest in collaborative coverage and as details were worked out, we progressed in these discussions."
Under the agreement, Manchester will pay $25, 668 annually while Bridgewater will contribute $9,026 and Lodi $26,694.
"We split it three ways based on the average number of calls and the amount of service each municipality was expected to use," Vailliencourt said.
Each of the deputies will be responsible for covering the 64 square miles that encompass the three municipalities 24 hours a day, she said. At least one deputy will be on duty during the day, two in the afternoon and one at night.
"This is a huge savings for the village that drastically improves our coverage," she said. "There was a lot of concern when residents heard that we were going to cut back one deputy. It was a high priority for us to maintain our level of security. Now, instead of paying the full cost of another deputy, we are paying a very small portion of the cost for several deputies."
The deputies, a long with two additional county contracted deputies, will be housed out of the Manchester substation.
Vailliencourt said she believes the agreement will benefit all area residents.
"This whole process was one of those very positive 'think outside of the box' scenarios," she said. "Everyone came together and removed the invisible political lines in an effort to choose what was best for our residents.
"In addition to the financial benefits, this agreement ensures that we will have a deputy close by whose first responsibility will be to take care of this area. It's a service the village feels is important to provide."
Vailliencourt said talks have also begun with Manchester and Freedom townships, which have expressed interest in sharing police services.
"Townships that don't contract with the sheriff's office realize the state police post in Ypsilanti is only 50 percent staffed and that could jeopardize their safety in the long run," she said.
Addressing concerns over future police coverage in Manchester, Vailliencourt said establishing a village police force is still an option.
"I think there is still some interest," she said. "We certainly haven't ruled it out for the future."
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