VBT Board hears comments on proposed layoffs

More than 50 people were in the audience of the Dec. 1 meeting of the Van Buren Township Board of Trustees – and many wanted to talk about the proposed dissolving of the fire department duty crews and layoffs in the police department.
Speakers had to wait until the end of the meeting for the Non-Agenda Items spot on the agenda before they could speak.
Township resident Kathleen Walsh stood up at her front-row seat and stated, “There’s a big elephant in the room” that isn’t being talked about.
She said she has gone on the Bellevilleareaindependent.com web site where they are talking about it.
She asked if a letter was sent to the fire department? Is there a big misunderstanding?
“Do we talk about things here? Does the fire chief teach at Schoolcraft College?” she asked.
Clerk Leon Wright said the fire department letter wasn’t sent by the board but by the negotiating committee to set up a meeting. He said it wasn’t to shut down a fire station or lay anyone off.
“The board didn’t send the letter?” Walsh asked.
Clerk Wright replied, “The board didn’t send the letter and if the board didn’t initiate it, ‘It’s just a letter floating around…’”
Treasurer Sharry Budd said the fire chief had approval from Supervisor Linda Combs and Public Safety Director Greg Laurain to teach at Schoolcraft.
“He handles what he has to,” she said of Fire Chief Dan Besson.
“He’s on call, but he had necessary approval,” Clerk Wright said, adding, the fire chief salary and benefit package includes paid time off.
Police Officer Chris Valinski said Clerk Wright said there was “a misunderstanding” and there was no directive from the board on layoffs. Officer Valinski said the union has been accused of scare tactics and there is friction and hostility in the department.
“There’s a huge white elephant in this room,” Officer Valinski agreed with Walsh.
He said the budget has just been approved and there is funding in place to maintain the staff of the whole Public Safety Department. He asked if somebody fabricated the layoffs.
“It has been discussed,” Clerk Wright said, adding there was a millage for 6.5 mills that failed at the polls. “I was asked to come to the fire department by my chief to discuss finances.”
An emergency fire staff meeting was held on the subject at Fire Station #1 on Nov. 25, in anticipation of the Independent reporting on layoffs.
Clerk Wright produced a chart on finances that he made for that fire department meeting and told the large audience on Dec. 1 that he had run off 50 copies to share with them. Few were interested.
Clerk Wright said from the time the voters passed 4 mills for public safety until now there has been a duty crew to staff the fire halls 24/7, while the value of the township dropped 30%.
“It’s going to take us 15 years at 2% increase a year to recoup,” he said.
In 2012, 4 mills brought in $2.2 million, Clerk Wright said. He said over the years the board has subsidized the decrease in funds and, “What the board is saying now is we can’t continue…
“If you keep paying your bills from your savings account, you’re going to run out,” Clerk Wright said.
Lt. Mark Buckberry, president of the POLC Command Officers union, reported on an incident that happened on Nov. 23 when he and Sgt. Louis Keele were talking. He said Director Laurain said the offer of employment for a new officer is now rescinded.
Lt. Buckberry said Director Laurain then said 5-10 patrol officers will be laid off, “Depending on how deep the board wants to go.” He said those were the only employees getting laid off. Laurain said he had to call POLC Patrol/Dispatch union president Adam Byrd to tell him to alert the patrol officers of the layoff.
“I am Officer Byrd’s supervisor and … I have never questioned his integrity,” Lt. Buckberry said, referring to Officer Byrd’s report that he got such a notice from the “employer.”
“The board is using scare tactics. Where is the leadership? Instead of discussing what happened … they talk about who to blame.”
Officer Byrd noted the board is not making cuts from this current budget to the next budget. He asked why they said he was confused at the work/study session.
He noted four weeks ago the board was talking about giving themselves raises.
Officer Byrd said with the last millage everybody made promises and that millage income runs through the end of 2017. The Visteon bond won’t be due until about 2019. The Public Safety Department is funded at the exact same rate it has been, he said.
Sgt. Marc Abdilla, president of the Michigan Association of Fire Fighters union local that also covers the “blended rate” officers, got up to speak although he was in pain after having major back surgery a couple of weeks ago.
He read part of the email to the fire department negotiators from the township’s attorney Ethan Vinson where Vinson said the township board is eliminating the duty crew.
Sgt. Abdilla said he has worked at VBT for a long time and before duty crews were put in place it took the fire fighters 25-30 minutes to come from their homes to the fire hall and then out to the scene. He said he has watched people die in freeway wreckage waiting for help.
“Mr. Hart, it could be your children in there,” Sgt. Abdilla said. “It’s absurd we’re even talking about it.”
He said he remembers when, in a recent letter in the Independent, the board told police officers to resign if they didn’t like their jobs.
“Nobody wants to discuss these lies,” Abdilla said. He said he remembers when Trustees Hart and Jahr shook hands with the police officers when they got sworn in as fire fighters [at blended rates].
Jack Ridenour, who said he was new in the community, said figures on Clerk Wright’s chart show the Public Safety millage has been going up for the last three years, not down.
He said 4 mills never covered all of Public Safety and the township is still paying about half, so he doesn’t see the problem. He asked why Public Safety expenditures jumped 10% in 2015.
Clerk Wright said they added the ordinance department to the police department and put aside $100,000. He disputed Ridenour’s interpretation of his chart and said he would be happy to sit down with Ridenour to discuss the finances.
CeJay Marshall said he was there to support the millage committee and stated, “You cannot operate on a deficit budget.” He said people in this community don’t want a tax increase, but when the landfill closes in the near future they will have to pay a lot more. He said the millage committee didn’t have the support of the Public Safety Department.
Abdilla said the budget problems are blamed on a classification of employees, which were called blended rate, but now are called “dual-role employees.”
He referred to the closed door session that the board held the day before to discuss MAFF negotiations.
He said according to SEMCOG (the Southeastern Michigan Council of Governments) the VBT Fire Department is the most fiscally efficient in SE Michigan. “Citizens of this community don’t deserve to go backward,” Abdilla said.
Officer Byrd said he and his family moved here from the City of Detroit for a safe atmosphere. He asked if he has to tell his daughter that they are going to have to move again because, “This board is going to make this area less safe.”
Officer Byrd said he never worked with the speaker “two back,” referring to Marshall, because he is extremely rude. He said police do intend to support the next millage.
Lt. Buckberry said the Public Safety employees think the scare tactics of layoff is not the way to get support and it gets exactly the opposite. He asked the board to choose and decide.
Former Township Supervisor Paul White said he has been in the township since the sheriff was patrolling. He said the reason the millage failed was because the 2.5 mills was added on and 2.5 mills would go into a segregated fund for Visteon.
“That is the reason the millage failed,” White said. “See the truth.” He said there is a $10 million balance in the landfill fund and the landfill, in his opinion, will be open until 2026, and a limited time after that.
“Somewhere, someone gave our fire chief and public safety director directions on what to say,” White said. “It had to come from above. Those two gentlemen wouldn’t do it on their own.”
Abdilla said it’s time to move forward and not be talking about laying off employees. He said all three unions will support a millage question.
“You got us,” Abdilla said. “It’s up to you what you do with us.”
Trustee Hart said property assessments fell 30% and Public Safety never has been properly funded – ever.
“I think the board is doing the right thing,” Trustee Hart said. “We hit a little blip … but we have to move forward. Taking in 4 mills doesn’t do it. I don’t want you to think we don’t support public safety. We do.”
Clerk Wright said he tries to tell the truth and, “No decision is going to be made to shut down a fire station, so eliminate that from your mind.
“Someone obviously dropped the gun and moved forward. I’m sure the treasurer didn’t do it and I didn’t do it,” he said, noting the Independent called him when he was 900 miles away over the Thanksgiving holiday to ask him about police layoffs.
“We met yesterday and had a good discussion,” he said of the closed-door session with MAFF negotiators.
He said 2.5 mills in the millage question that failed was dedicated to public safety and, “We can’t take it and use it for anything else.”
[At a public meeting, Supervisor Linda Combs explained that the plan was to get 2.5 mills more for Public Safety so that the board could take the 2.5 mills it currently appropriates for Public Safety and instead put it into a dedicated fund to pay off the Visteon bonds.] Former VBT Public Safety Director Carl McClanahan said the township supervisor is the principal employer at the township. He said the police union was given an official notice that layoffs were eminent.
“Who made a decision to do it and why?” McClanahan asked and the room broke out in applause.
White thanked McClanahan for his question and then turned to the board: “The elimination of the duty crew and lay off of officers – If it is the desire of the board not to do that, all of you should say so.” There was no response.
“The dual role employees show up for work, work their shifts … the biggest issue is management of this budget … There’s $10 million in the landfill fund for us to use.”
“It is my hope the board will work with the union,” said Trustee Brenda McClanahan. “Do we want layoffs? No. I lived in a community where there were cut backs – and crime encroached. People could move away.”