VBT budget: How about getting a new K-9 officer?

Getting a new police dog was one of the items discussed at last Thursday and Friday’s daylong budget sessions for the Van Buren Township Board of Trustees.
They were considering amendments to the 2015 budget and the new 2016 budget, which has to be approved by Dec. 31.
When Public Safety Director Greg Laurain talked about the uses for the forfeiture funds, he said they want to get a canine officer.
Director Laurain said the last time his department had a K-9 officer was in 2011 when it got sick and passed away. He said they had funds for it but didn’t have an officer for that.
He said it is a good tool for a police officer on the street and now VBT has to call Canton or Romulus PD to use a dog.
Laurain said there was a shooting at Pine Creek a couple of nights earlier and his department had to get a dog to search for the shooter. The suspect got away by running through Laurain’s backyard.
And there was another recent chase after a traffic crash of a person who stole from Meijer and bailed out in the Belleville Road/Van Born Road area. Canton Police came out with its dog, but the suspect escaped in the woods.
“I want to get dogs back in our schools to socialize with the students and to do drug sniffs,” Laurain said, adding School Supt. Michael Van Tassel supports drug sniffs.
VBT Deputy Director/Police Jason Wright had been a dog handler for Wayne PD for five years.
“We’ve got to have an officer who wants to do police work,” Wright said. “To be proactive, not just driving around showing off his dog.”
He said he was trained by the Schoenbachs in the 1990s. Wright said there is a lot more officer safety when there is a dog on the scene.
“If we use forfeiture funds to get it up and running, it could possibly support itself,” Wright said.
He said they would have to post the position, do interviews, buy and import the dog for $7,000, pay $3,500 for the initial training and preparation of the dog, and then $3,500 per year for retraining. He said the vet bill for the first year is $1,000 and then about $500 per year thereafter, and then there is the food bill.
Wright said the township won’t get rich having a dog, but it might fund itself.
Trustee Brenda McClanahan, a retired Detroit Police officer, asked if he would be getting a Belgian and Wright immediately responded VBT’s new dog would be a German shepherd. He said a Belgian is not for a first-time handler.
Laurain said at one time there were four dogs at VBT PD, two handled by full-time officers and two handled by reserves.
Wright said the Schoenbachs sold their dog training business to Terry Foley who now is stationed in Taylor. He offered to set up a field trip for the township board to see how the training works. Wright said he has worked with Foley.
Trustee Reggie Miller asked if it was possible to transfer the dog to another handler if the first one left VBT and Wight said each situation is different. He said the dog is township property, but the dog is a living creature.
He said the most important philosophy is that the dog is friendly, “except when we tell him not to be.”
Wright said there are officer safety issues, and felon issues.
Laurain said the new Garcia Law requires built-in four hours maintenance a day for a dog handler. That would mean the dog officer would work an eight-hour shift and use the four hours left of his regular 12-hour shift for dog handling.
Laurain said there would be no overtime and if the handler is not on duty they couldn’t call him in. If another department called to use the dog, VBT would say, “I’m sorry, he’s not available,” Laurain said.
Wright said there could be exceptions for major situations.
“I don’t want you to think he’s going to make $50,000 for the township,” Wright said. “My hope is that it funds itself so I don’t have to come back and ask you for more money.”
The board did not say anything negative against the dog suggestion.
During the budget sessions, the board heard proposals for their departments from every department director. After discussion by the board, the supervisor prepares a budget and brings it back to a public hearing where it will be considered by the public and the board members. The public hearing on this budget will be held at 7 p.m. Nov. 17
During the budget sessions, much was presented, including the following:
• Some board members were in favor of giving themselves a raise of 1.5%, like the other township employees are getting. Some were vehemently against a raise, with Trustee Brenda McClanahan asking if they weren’t supposed to be worrying about having enough money for the Visteon bonds. Trustee Reggie Miller also spoke up against a raise;
• Public Safety Director Laurain: Federal forfeiture funds need to be spent down, so one of the things he would like to do is spend the funds to get new badges for all the officers. “The present badges are 35 years old and some don’t match,” Laurain said. “And, the clasps break.” The new badges are $100 each and have a lifetime guarantee;
• Deputy Director/Police Wright: “We’re trying to be very prudent” in looking at body cameras for police officers. “It’s a huge, huge cost…We are looking into it very carefully.” No request for body cameras;
• Lt. Charles Bazzy: “There was a temporary restraining order against the township for the razing of 16629 Haggerty, which has been a problem for the township since 2005 … Today the judge ruled in the township’s favor” so the house will be demolished;
• DPW Director Jim Taylor, while discussing the primary feed water line delivering water from Detroit to the city of Belleville that goes under the Belleville Bridge using VBT’s system to provide the water along with a DTE electrical line, “We have been told there’s 10 years of life left on that bridge. That bridge is crumbling.” He said it has to be determined who is going to pay for what;
• Belleville Area Museum Director Katie Dallos said the finances are much better since Midge Artley’s estate left them $70,000 and Sumpter Township gave them $10,000 and plans to do it again next year;
• Cable TV Director Allie McCracken asked for $4,200 more in operating supplies. She said the drone batteries are $60-$70 each and one failed and they have five left. She also wanted a 33% pay increase for her employees and $2,500 for training, up from $200 last year. Board members said a written policy should be in place for use of the drone. “I don’t want the VBT drone to cause a crash at the airport,” said Trustee Jahr, noting the drone pictures in the township hallway show pictures closer than the 5 miles allowed to an airport.” She said there is no insurance on the drone and it will come back when it loses its signal. But, at the recent canoe event on the lake it was gustier than she thought, the drone used more power and, “I almost lost it.” She said there is about $4,000 invested in the drone;
• Senior Services Lynette Jordan asked, again, for a full-time senior coordinator to help her, since she has no full-time workers. She said there is a part-time senior coordinator, a part-time senior specialist (each 29 hours a week), 100 active volunteers, and 2,000 members of September Days Senior Citizens. She raised the membership dues last year to raise money for a full-time assistant and the revenue went up from $41,000 to $62,000, she said. Jordan said she was a full-time senior coordinator when Linda Combs was senior director. When she left in 2010, Jordan has run the department without full-time help. She also asked for a raise. When asked about the German citizen who works 40 hours a week on a program and get $270 a month from donations, Jordan confirmed that he takes a township car home for personal use during the week and week ends. She said he pays for his own fuel. Jordan told the board that VBT has the largest aging population in Wayne County, according to SEMCOG;
• Planning and Economic Development Director Ron Akers said Menard has its final site plan and plans to start building in April or May and move in during the spring of 2017. Akers told the board he will be looking at permit prices since some are a little high. His department also will be looking at ways to streamline processes so it doesn’t take so long for people to do their projects; and
• Heard Alicia McGovern of Edward Jones present herself suddenly at the beginning of the Friday morning session to offer to present a pension plan for employees. She was not on the agenda, but was invited by Trustee Miller. Clerk Leon Wright said the board does not want to be caught off guard at a budget session. “We’re not going to be caught off guard,” he stated. Supervisor Linda Combs said later that she eventually wants to go out for bids on all the professional services the township uses, but that day’s agenda did not include such a presentation.