W.04 = - $ • $ rosse Pointe ews VOL.~.8 Grosse POInte, Michigan Thursday, February 23, 1984 30 cents 36P8Q88 Public safety: Is it for crime's sake? By Harriet Nolan suffermg PSO growing pains is promoted and then only alter a pro- Just mentwn the words public Kalamazoo, where the program is Ceal that produced a select group of sa(('ty to a true blue, tradltlonally- less than two years old, There, its well.trairied men. tramed flrefightl>r and he'll see red. director IS a former pohee chief "Now you have Whole-scale But ask any public safety dIrector, and Its aSS!8tant director the city's commands running around and who probably came up through the former flrl" chief, George Danz. these guys are gonna he about the disadvantages of PSO to protect ranks of the pohce department, Danz says the transition has TtIX facu about It and he'll answer "It's the their raises, promotions and bene- He~', I learned something Ul- doubled police car coverage for fits ... way to ~o." Kalamazoo's 80,000 people and teresting today, so I think I'll The city of Glosse POinte Park In reply to the argument support- pass It on to )"ou 1dldn't know it, caused a drop in response hme to ing cost effechvelleli8, Arney draws has Just begun to examme the Issue crime but many 0{ the utility compa- and for all practical purposes It ap- on personal experience He mes pay taxes to the cities they pears to be at the opportune time ..Response to fires remams the remembers working overtime on serve Accordmg to John Crawford, city same and 97 3 percent of the hme the average of once a year dunng his 17 years on the force 1 Tf><'f>lVM tour Orf><l.<: rf>lf'll~ ~anag~r, abou~ 1.1 eml?loyes from PSO are on the scene before the fire UII: iJuuce UIlU 111 C u~panmcnt , Sim.e tile l:uulluiniMuon, 1 ve from M.1chCon in which they said trucks get there and can SIze the combmed wlll be eligible for ,e- they paJd $183,916 in winter taxes situutlon up and return unneeded worked overtime at least three ltrement over the next three years trucks to quarters qUickly," he times and they had to go through a to the Farms, City, Woods and This natural attntlOn involvmg roster of 91 guys to get to me each Park The breakdown was a fol- adds lows; Farms, $46.454; City, many in key supervisory positions time. The overtime budget paid to could aid the transition which would However, a loud opponent to PSO last year wu $222,000," he $28,779; Woods, $71,166 and Danz is Charles Arney, Kalamazoo says. $32.517 to the Park. consohdate pollce and fIre offlclals into a single unit. Policemen would fIrefIghter and presldent or Fire- fighters Local 395 "I have no Grone PolD:te Plrk firefighter And what do they pay taxes on, assume flrefighting dutIes and Joe Bial~, a IS-year veteran 01 the you ma)' ask? "Personal prop- Vlce-versa. respect for the man," he says. "He kept hIS mouth shut during PSO department and president of Fire- erty in our Cities," said Farms However, such a move often fighters Union Local 553, says the Clty Accessor Carrol Lock. talks to ensure hlS current Job and brings out heightened emotions and hefty benefits." only good reason 101' a city to 80 PSO "For the gas company it would PltS the allegiance of police and fire is to save money and give better mainly be pipelines for trans- departments against the other. The service, two points that he believes mlssion 0{ gas. Edison also pays change, most agree, wiII tip the haven't been proven. for the meters in the homes, SCAles m favor of the police depart- "They're talking "They're tal~ about reducinl transformers, transmission lines ment whIch gains a beefed-up force costs. but it's by loSing men tbr1luP and the like " "Public safety officers (PSO) can about redUcing retirement. Yau can't give the same Two utilities sources that do do work traditionally trained fire- service by losing men who bave the not pay taxes to an)' cities are men can't do hke booking and feed- costs, but it's by expertise and ability to get people water from Detroit, because ing prisoners and filling out reports, on the scene QUicklv whether it be they're a governmental aKen- while also doubling on the streets to losing men thro- poUoe or fnmen." Blalk added. cy, and Michigan Bell. fight fires," says Glenford Leonard, He compares the consolidation f4 former policeman and now director ugh retirement." the twoproIeuJonI to utiDla den- "Actually, MIchigan Bell pays of the Oak Park Public Safety tist and a doctor to do eId1 C!tber'. taxes but not on a city-by-city Department, Joe Bialk, Park job, basis," added Lock. "They pay "It's the way to go for productivi- "They Uke to think they will qual. taxes to the state. Probably be- ty, highly professionalized services firefighter ify us throop cross training, but cause they argued that it would and better trained people," adds what they end up with are some be too costly to break the taxes Leonard. His city has operated with policemen who make poor firemea down on a city-by-city basis. Util- PSO since 1954. The only thing Arney does agree and vice versa." WW allllle Pointes be PSO so meday? photo by TOlI'l Gt-.MxlCl Ity companies are definitely not But another Michigan city still with Danz on is that PSO is defi- Bruce Kennedy, director of the exempt from taxes." nitely a police program. He also City's PSO department notes Maybe I'm naive, but I didn't charges that new supervisors head. that when the issue of public: safety k...l0W that. All this time I could ing the PSO program are men, was first discussed In the City no have sworn I was the only one Local assessments will rise predominately taken from the effort wu made to ~ee men paying taxes. police department, who have who retired in preparation for the By SU .. McDeDald Grosse Pointe City's assess- serve as a base for figuring prop- neither the training nor expertise change. Hard workers Reflecting an economic recovery ments will drop about seven-tenths erly taxes. The new numbers will be to command a fire scene. So from lW4 to 1m the combined of one percent. Shores assessments used on summer and winter tax bills "Coograls" are due this week tha~seems to be showing up more in "Often their decision is to tell total of police and firemen dnJpped expensive neigbborboocls eX Wayne Will remam the same, but Trea- from local cities, Grosse Pointe everybody to get out of a bunung from 33 to 29, aDd an additioDal four to two fine Pointers who both surer Ellen West is adjustmg some happen to be affiliated with County than in modest areas, prop- Pubhc Schools, the Wayne County house, a decIsion that has occurred were lost througb attritiClll. Now the ~ assessments on many Grosse subdiviSIOn assessment down- Intermediate School District, during a couple of recent fires," revamped ~ 1lWIlben •• bookstores Ul the Village and on wards. adds Arney. The Hlll. PoiDle boIne8 will riM tbi8 year, ac- Wa~ County Com~oUe&e, be ..... OOC... ~ CGUat)r ~ offidaJs. 'I'bt; tentativefaeton ... butdon ao4\M lI~tcaIl Parks It doem'llNll* to bUn.~ PIG A pat on the bad!: pel to G-. '2f;lI)Ohtb studies ol bousinI salel Autbor-Jb. ., . arr1ve OJ!, the SCeJl6 .!)dore tire ..,. increaels wtl1 be reI.lively dropped trucks because "the mea can't do ~-=-"\.'==A s-o. 's aad her e..w at the to iDcludiJ:JI the last nine anontbi at Property values last s&aff cwwap .... I toUle I_n, an 01 UI82 and the first Uaree year aa ....... ., ...... peraal ~.xi Ibe eruc.u ........ ~VWagef~~~_job tbey ~=eompeNdlJumN CODIJ'JVN) in the anyway. wo OYer' tbe "-U&-'-- seaIIOII months oll983, according to George for tbe live Groue PofDte.I. Bat -:; 1:11; pr," J ........ late lt1OIi. 'ftIey-wtll ~e in the "U a PSO gets tbere ODe minute coDectiDg donatiooa for the Cbil- McEachran, deputy director of prior to ttult, they bad increased PoUrteI from 2.25 to almOst 5 per- fi- tremendoosly. Total __ sed valu- before me, he's got ua1oclI: hJ8 drens Home ~ Detroit. nance, a~ment and equaJUation to cent, with no chaDge in the Sbores ation ill the Graue Pointe school trunk, take his gun off. put on hJI ~:\'~--=r:.~ All the "good elves" at the shop and a sUgbt decline in the City. for Wayne County. led over .Dd .iucfied durIu tile district, (which also includes a part fIre gear and that 30 seconds doe6n't coaUnc mooths by Groat PUiate decided they'd match any funds Last year property 'assessments McEachran said he is seeing a of Hare-:r Woods), increased from mean anything," says Arney. Park's newly formed citilon. donated to the home towards the in all five Pointes dropped for the mixed picture from other Wayne $467 milliOfl in 1972 to .., million "And as long as I've been in the committee. purchase eX books for the insti- service, it has taken only one man to first time since before the Great County communities and he nine years later. The most dramatic Stephen W~, attorney with tUbon's library. Depression. Those lower assess- couldn't predict what the outcome upturn began in 1979 when the total make a hose connection to a hyd.