ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Orion Township officials are warning of major cuts to police and fire protection after voters rejected two public safety millages in Tuesday's primary election.
Watch Jeffrey Lindblom's report below
Township Supervisor Chris Barnett says the failed millages leave emergency services without local funding starting in the new year.
"As of January 1, Orion Township will have zero dollars coming in for police and zero dollars coming in for fire," Barnett said.
Barnett calls the situation critical, saying townships can only fund emergency services through special assessments or millages.
"This is the single only funding resource we have for public safety," Barnett said.
Both millages would have supported four years of service. The fire millage sought a 28-percent increase to fund 9 additional staff members and expanded quarters at the station. It failed by a margin of 1 percent of votes. The police millage, a 9-percent increase renewal tied to a 36-percent rise in the township's contract with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, failed by a wider margin.
Barnett says creating an independent police force is not a viable alternative.
"We can't start a police force of our own cheaper than what we're getting from the county right now," Barnett said.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard says his office saves the township money through a force-multiplier model, which includes deputies on the streets and a lieutenant-run substation in the township handling calls for service. He says the contract increase reflects a jump in the county's cost of operation.
"If they had their own police department, they would have their own command structure, their own civilian staff, records…" Bouchard said.
Bouchard warns that cuts to the contract could have serious consequences for residents.
"If there's any cuts in what's left — it's going to increase response times," Bouchard said.
He says without a funded contract, the Sheriff's Office would only respond to emergency calls from other parts of the county.
"We will respond from other parts of the county for emergency only calls, but that means pretty much everything else doesn't get a response," Bouchard said.
Orion Township Fire Department Chief Ryan Allen says a citizen study led him to believe voters would support the 28-percent millage increase for additional staffing and resources.
"It would mean a decrease in services in some way, shape or form," Allen said.
Allen expressed disappointment in the outcome and hopes better information will help build support going forward.
"And I hope that moving forward we can supply better information for them to get behind," Allen said.
Orion Township resident Bob Yeokum says he is not surprised voters turned down a tax increase in a community he describes as safe, but says the potential drop in emergency response has him hoping residents make more informed decisions in the future.
"People don't want to spend money," Yeokum said. "If they're not knowledgeable about it, they're not going to vote for it."
Barnett says he believes the outcome is an anomaly and that the township will move quickly to place the millages back before voters.
"I believe this is an anomaly and we will fix it," Barnett said.
Officials have a few days to finalize how the millages will be brought to November's ballot, where residents will once again decide the future of public safety funding in Orion Township.
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