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Village
Patrolmens
Association
Response
to
Mayor
Brittons
Open
Letter
To
The
Madison
Village
Community
February
15,
2016
The
members
of
the
Madison
Village
Police
Department
and
the
community
were
shocked
on
Friday
to
learn
of
the
Mayors
and
some
members
of
Village
Councils
efforts
to
dissolve
the
Village
Police
department
and
contract
with
Madison
Township
for
police
service.
This
came
without
warning
and
without
discussion
with
the
police
union
or
Village
patrol
officers.
The
Madison
Village
Police
Department
is
currently
made
up
of
a
full
and
part
time
staff
including
the
Chief,
15
sworn
officers
(1
serving
as
the
School
Resource
Officer),
1
Auxiliary
officer,
2
clerks
and
2
school
crossing
guards.
The
MVPD
has,
for
over
80
years,
protected
and
served
the
residents
and
community
of
Madison
Village.
We
are
a
small
village
with
different
requirements
than
a
large
township,
and
the
MVPD
strives
to
serve
those
needs.
In
addition
to
what
most
people
would
think
of
as
normal
police
patrol,
we
also
focus
on
small
town
community
policing
-
activities
such
as
Neighborhood
Watch,
youth
bicycle
safety
programs,
Madison
Safety
Town,
business
checks,
foot
patrols,
increased
neighborhood
patrols
and
many
more.
The
Village
Police
Departments
ONLY
focus
is
MADISON
VILLAGE.
This
type
of
focus
on
Madison
Village
will
be
lost
through
contracting
with
a
larger
department
with
different
priorities.
The
Township
Police
Department
is
a
fine
organization,
and
it
serves
the
Township
well.
It
is,
however,
a
very
busy
police
department.
Those
of
us
familiar
with
the
volume
and
nature
of
calls
requiring
multiple
cars
the
Township
must
respond
to,
know
how
often
the
Township
officer
in
the
Village
zone
will
be
required
to
leave
it.
Under
a
contract
with
a
large,
busy
police
department,
the
reduced
presence
of
a
patrol
unit
in
the
Village,
as
well
as
the
loss
of
current
police
staff
presence
at
our
station
on
weekdays
of
the
Chief,
Clerk,
and
occasional
part
time
officers
will
be
a
clear
and
obvious
reduction
in
police
protection
and
service.
As
for
the
Mayors
letter
to
the
community,
we
would
like
to
address
several
points
that
he
has
brought
up.
(His
letter
is
available
on
the
Villages
website)
The
Mayor
argues
that
the
police
department
is
running
at
less
than
full
staffing.
He
states
full
staffing
would
be
6
full
time
patrol
officers.
The
last
time
MVPD
had
6
full
time
patrol
officers
was
a
decade
ago.
At
that
time,
we
had
two
patrol
cars
on
each
shift.
We
currently
run
one
car
on
each
shift.
He
states
the
department
cannot
effectively
run
this
way.
He
implies
that
shifts
are
not
able
to
be
filled
and
states
the
Chief
has
to
run
patrol.
To
our
knowledge
MVPD
has
never
in
the
last
decade
had
an
open
shift
where
the
road
was
not
covered,
The
number
of
times
the
Chief
offered,
or
was
required
to
cover
a
shift
in
the
past
year
was
a
handful
at
most.
A
Chief
occasionally
working
a
road
shift
occurs
at
many
smaller
departments.
At
MVPD,
the
declining
number
of
part
time
village
officers
and
refusal
of
the
Village
to
hire
new
part
time
officers
to
replace
them
is
mostly
to
blame.
While
additional
full
time
officers
might
be
an
option
in
the
future,
the
MVPD
can
and
does
function
effectively
with
our
3
current
full
time
officers
and
part
time
staff.
We
could
operate
more
effectively
if
the
Village
would
allow
the
department
to
replace
the
part
time
officers
that
have
left
-
many
due
to
a
growing
lack
of
support
from
the
administration.
The
claim
that
the
department
cannot
be
run
effectively
is
simply
not
true.
The
Mayor
then
cites
the
number
of
$836,000
as
the
annual
budget
required
for
6
full
time
officers
as
a
cost
comparison.
Again,
this
is
a
staffing
level
that
has
not
been
in
existence
for
over
a
decade.
Six
full
time
officers
would
provide
two
cars
on
each
shift.
This
would
be
double
the
coverage
of
the
Townships
proposed
plan
of
having
a
single
car
that
would
primarily
spend
its
shift
in
the
Village.
Is
the
Village
stating
that
two
cars
per
shift
are
required
to
provide
a
safe
community?
If
so,
why
would
they
contract
for
only
one
car
per
shift?
This
is
a
misleading
claim
intended
to
exaggerate
possible
cost
savings
by
contracting.
The
Townships
proposal
starts
at
$575,000
and
rises
each
and
every
year
with
year
five
reaching
$619.
889.
However,
these
are
not
the
total
costs.
Looking
at
the
Townships
proposed
contract,
the
Village
will
also
turn
over
thousands
of
dollars
of
Village
owned
equipment
including
police
cruisers,
weapons,
radios,
etc.
The
Village
will
also
pay
the
ongoing
expenses
for
a
substation
inside
the
Village
including
costs
for
furnishing,
computers,
utilities
and
maintenance.
The
Village
will
pay
any
additional
costs
of
incarceration,
medical
treatment,
and
medical
testing
of
individuals
apprehended
in
the
Village.
The
Village
will
also
be
responsible
for
other
pass
through
increases,
such
as
potential
labor
cost
increases.
There
are
no
ceilings
on
these
additional
costs
in
the
contract,
and
the
Village
has
no
idea
what
the
ongoing
costs
will
be
at
the
expiration
of
the
initial
contract.
Negotiating
a
financially
sound
second
contract
will
be
difficult,
after
dissolving
the
MVPD
and
having
few
options
other
than
renewing
or
going
to
the
Sheriffs
Office.
The
Mayor
lists
the
Police
Departments
2015
budget
as
$656,100
in
total,
with
$370,784
coming
from
the
general
fund,
and
$234,749
coming
from
the
2014
Police
Levy.
It
is
difficult
for
us
to
confirm
these
numbers
since
the
Village
does
not
make
its
budget
available
on
its
website,
and
the
administration
routinely
does
not
comply
with
public
information
requests
from
our
Union
pertaining
to
financial
matters.
However,
well
assume
those
numbers
to
be
correct.
The
tax
levy
money
of
$235K
annually
is
a
substantial
amount,
and
an
important
component
of
revenue
to
the
police
department
and
the
Villages
overall
budget.
The
police
levy
funds
present
a
major
obstacle
in
making
the
case
to
dissolve
the
police
department
for
financial
reasons.
In
May
2014,
the
voters
of
Madison
Village
were
presented
with
a
ballot
question
with
clearly
stated
language,
a
proposed
tax
levy
for
the
benefit
of
Madison
Village
for
the
purpose
of
providing
and
maintaining
motor
vehicles,
communications,
other
equipment,
buildings,
and
sites
for
buildings
used
directly
in
the
operation
of
the
police
department,
or
the
payment
of
salaries
of
permanent
or
part-time
police,
communications,
or
administrative
personnel
to
operate
the
same.
The
tax
levy
was
promoted
by
the
administration
as
a
way
to
strengthen
and
improve
the
Madison
Village
Police
Department.
Village
residents
wanting
to
secure
a
strong
future
for
Madison
Village
and
their
local
police
department
passed
the
levy.
The
language
of
the
levy
makes
the
proceeds
from
it
restricted
to
the
use
described,
which
is
to
operate
the
Madison
Village
Police
Department.
The
levy
language
does
not
allow
for
the
use
of
the
levy
funds
for
contracted
police
protection
or
other
police
services.
It
clearly
reads
used
directly
in
the
operation
of
the
police
department.
Even
if
the
Village
would
prevail
in
the
inevitable
legal
challenge
to
their
ability
to
use
the
levy
funds
for
contracting
with
the
Township,
the
attempted
repeal
of
the
police
levy
would
almost
surely
follow.
For
a
levy
narrowly
passed
by
10
votes,
and
sold
to
the
public
as
a
way
to
improve
the
Madison
Village
Police
Department,
does
anyone
expect
that
support
for
a
repeal
would
be
hard
to
muster?
The
vast
majority
of
Yes
voters
will
feel
betrayed,
and
a
likely
large
majority
of
No
voters
who
were
opposed
to
the
levy
back
in
2014
will
support
a
repeal
as
well.
Facing
a
very
possible
loss
of
the
$235K
in
levy
money,
any
idea
of
financial
savings
for
the
Village
under
this
proposal
collapses.
Using
the
Mayors
own
figures,
the
MVPD
costs
the
Village
$370,784
from
the
general
fund
and
most
of
the
rest
comes
from
the
levy.
Take
the
levy
away,
and
the
contract
with
the
township
still
costs
over
$575,000
in
the
first
year.
How
can
the
Village
guarantee
the
levy
money
will
continue
when
it
is
no
longer
used
for
what
the
voters
approved
it
for?
How
will
the
Village
afford
to
pay
for
the
contracted
police
services
without
the
$235K
in
levy
money?
Have
the
Township
Trustees
considered
how
the
Village
will
pay
for
the
contract
without
levy
funds?
There
are
also
additional
legal
questions
that
need
addressed
concerning
Article
IX
of
the
Village
Charter
and
whether
the
Village
has
legal
authority
to
dissolve
the
police
department.
This
proposal
dissolves
YOUR
Madison
Village
Police
Department
that
has
served
this
community
for
nearly
85
years,
gives
up
YOUR
local
control
of
your
police
protection,
gives
up
YOUR
control
over
future
cost
increases,
decreases
the
services
you
have
come
to
expect
from
your
police,
impacts
the
safety
and
well
being
of
all
Village
residents,
and
may
in
fact
increase
the
Village
net
costs
for
police
coverage
with
the
likely
loss
of
levy
money.
We
urge
everyone
to
take
a
fair
and
honest
look
at
the
Village
proposal
and
consider
all
the
possible
ramifications.
Ask
questions
of
your
elected
leaders,
voice
your
opinions,
and
come
to
Tuesdays
council
meeting
and
the
meetings
that
follow.