Belleville City Council approves three-year contract with police

On Monday, the Belleville City Council approved a three-year contract with the local unit of the Police Officers Association of Michigan, who had already ratified the proposed contract.
The contract runs from Jan. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 2021 and gives a raise in pay of 2.5% for each of the three years. There also is a $100 signing bonus instead of adding two business days.
There are changes in wording on the vacations and a uniform allowance for part-time officers, at half the rate of full time. If part-timers work a holiday they get time and a half in addition to the holiday pay.
Also, an update to wording: “In the event that a full-time or part-time officer is unable to work the hours between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. or any other allotted time slot during those specified hours a reserve officer may be permitted to fill the needed shift. All avenues to fill this needed shift with a full-time/part-time officer as outlined in this section must be exhausted. The full-time officer assigned to that shift must be notified in advance of shift and approve the reserve officer assigned.”
Also, “Whenever a part-time employee is called in on request of management other than his/her time, he/she shall be paid at the rate of pay at time and one-half rate of pay.”
Also, procedures are stated for bidding for the special assignment of school resource officer and how that position is assigned. A SRO officer may hold that position for a maximum of four years.
In other business at Monday’s meeting, the council:
• Approved the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Polish Legion of American Veterans request for “Buddy Poppy” sales between the hours of 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. on May 9-11, on locations on Main Street;
• Approved the following Belleville Central Business Community events: Flop E Bunny Candy Hunt at noon at Victory Park on April 20; Belleville Farmers’ Market on Mondays from June through September, 4-7:30 p.m. at the Fourth Street Square; Taste of Belleville at Horizon Park, 6-8 p.m., Aug. 15; Harvest Fest Market, Oct. 12, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at Fourth Street Square; Monster Mutt Walk, noon-2 p.m. Oct. 19, Fourth Street Square; Halloween, 5-7 p.m., Oct. 31, Fourth Street Square;
• Approved the Belleville Area Chamber of Commerce Strawberry Fest 5-K run on June 15 from 5:30 to 9 a.m. starting and ending at Horizon Park. Parking for participants will be on the west side of the high school;
• Approved the Main St. Car Show put on by Egan’s Pub and other community sponsors on Mondays from June 3 to Sept. 30, except for Labor Day, from 5 to 9 p.m.;
• Approved the Belleville Area Council for the Arts’ Music Lakeside concerts on High Street at Horizon Park from June 20 through Aug. 15 from 4 to 10 p.m. This is the 10th season on the lake, the 30th if you count Music in the Park. Ken Voigt asked the council to approve banners on the light poles at Horizon Park to promote the concerts all summer. This was referred to the administration for a recommendation, since it goes against the city’s sign ordinance;
• Approved accounts payable of $417,619.46 and the following purchases in excess of $500: to Davenport Brothers, $5,000 bond refund from escrow; and to Wise Technologies, $573.75 for computers/network;
• Heard City Manager Diana Kollmeyer report that Cornell Anton has written a memo and delivered it earlier that day about the repairs needed at the Veterans Memorial. She said the city is putting together a timeline and will get a report on the financial part. They will ask Hennessey Engineers to look at it and make a proposal for repairs. She said this will not include how to pay for it. She said she would like to see this settled once and for all;
• Learned 46 rooms were booked at the Holiday Inn for the Robotics competition this week end, which is bringing 40 teams from throughout the state to the event;
• Heard Mayor Kerreen Conley announce the Mayors’ Ball will be held May 18 at the Belleville Yacht Club to benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs in both Romulus and Belleville;
• Heard John Blackstone say the VFW Post will celebrate its 75th anniversary at 1 p.m., Sept. 21, when it dedicates a 105-millimeter howitzer in its front yard. Digger Odell, the last living POW in the state of Michigan, will be present;
• Heard John Winter of Egan’s Pub ask the city to work harder to get the city cleaned up after events. He said the Winter Fest parade left a big mess, with candy and beads thrown all over the place. He used a broom to clean and he asked other businesses to help the city clean up. Although the parade ordinance says you can’t throw candy, parade participants are doing it. Council Tom Fielder said he would mention this problem at the next Strawberry Festival committee meeting; and
• Heard Mayor Conley announce there are openings on several boards and commissions which need local volunteers. There is one opening on the Civil Service Commission, two on the Downtown Development Authority, two on Parks and Recreation, and three on the Cemetery Advisory Board.
Councilman Tom Smith was absent from Monday’s council meeting.