No suit planned over alleged Open Meetings Act violation, C1
In the worst case scenario for contract policing - meaning no townships add officers - the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department stands to lose 28 general road patrol positions.
But many of the changes will likely occur closer to the top of the organization if command officers accept a retirement incentive now being offered to ensure no layoffs occur in January 2002 when contract policing goes into place.
County Administrator Robert Guenzel and sheriff's department union leaders say the retirement incentive offers the best option for a difficult situation.
"That's the only alternative to layoffs," said Deputy Harry Valentine, president of the deputy sheriffs' union. "These people are eligible to retire already, and the deputies we have now are the future sergeants, lieutenants and maybe even sheriffs. We need to make sure the younger officers stay here for the future of the department."
However, the possibility of many of the department's most seasoned officers leaving at once has at least one township riled.
Officials in Ypsilanti Township, which provides the largest contract for the sheriff's department, had threatened to sue the county board for allegedly violating the state Open Meetings Act by endorsing the plan during a closed door meeting, but decided Wednesday not to proceed with the lawsuit.
The incentive program will allow any sheriff's department employee who is eligible to retire by Jan. 31, 2002, to purchase up to five years of service credit for 7 percent of the employee's base wage. Employees must have 20 years of service to retire now, or be 55 years of age with 10 years of service.
A police officer who earns $50,000 annually would have to pay $3,500 per year of service purchased, Guenzel said. Under the current retirement benefits, the sheriff's department portion of the pension fund is 23 percent overfunded and will be about 18 percent overfunded with the implementation of the plan, Guenzel said.
Anyone who plans to take advantage of the incentive has until Feb. 8 to notify the county, and must leave between May 1 and Jan. 31, 2002. The incentive applies to about 20 employees - both command officers and deputies, union officials say.
Sheriff-elect Dan Minzey said it's unclear what impact the incentive will have on the department, but he plans to meet with his administrative team to discuss it when he takes office in two weeks. "We're going into a lot of unknowns and it's a difficult thing," Minzey said.
Valentine said the incentive will provide some peace of mind to younger deputies that massive layoffs aren't being planned. Still, he said, many deputies are fearful of losing their jobs and at least three have already left as a result of the uncertainty.
"People are worried about layoffs and I think they should be," Valentine said. "We've worked very hard on this incentive, and I think it's fair. We can't lose the youth of the department over this, and I know some people are looking at the state police and other agencies right now. It's not a pretty picture."
Since the pay-for-service program was approved in June, the department has had a hiring and promotional freeze, except in the jail staff. If deputy positions are lost, some deputies could move to any open correctional positions, said Valentine, who anticipates a loss of road patrol positions next year.
"A lot of townships are angry over the issue, and I don't know if they'll have contracts," Valentine said. "I've been worried about this since before it was approved."
Sgt. Carl Werner, president of the command officers' union, said he expects many of the employees eligible for the retirement incentive will take it. He said he fears the number of positions will be reduced next year and said the greatest impact will be on the communities that don't sign contracts.
"We're going to have a shortage of officers, any way you look at it," Werner said. "The incentive is a logical way to reduce positions, along with attrition, and if that happens, there shouldn't be any layoffs. We have a tremendously good crew of young recruits and we need to prevent layoffs.
"The bigger issue is that there will be less cops out there than there are now," Werner said. "I'm concerned about what's going to happen to those communities who won't have police, like Manchester Township."
Werner also said the union is concerned about officer safety, since townships could contract for a single deputy and back-up might be miles away.
"It will be worse than it is now. Under general road patrol, officers have the right to demand a partner in hours of darkness," Werner said. "The situation might not be safe if we have all single-man cars."
Guenzel said this week that he believes the long-term effect of contract policing will be more officers, but he's prepared for an initial loss of positions when it takes effect Jan. 1, 2002.
"It takes a lot to train a deputy, and we need to keep as many newer deputies as we can. We're not offering an early retirement; just an incentive to those who are already eligible," Guenzel said. "These people could retire tomorrow at any event. We're certainly concerned about the impact, and that's why we asked that they not leave until May, to give the new sheriff and his staff time to fill command positions when they leave."
Amalie Nash can be reached by e-mail at anash@annarbornews.com or at (734) 994-6832.