One in every 10 Michigan State Police troopers will be off the roads starting Sunday, following rejection of an unpaid furlough time plan by the troopers’ union that would have prevented 100 layoffs.
The troopers’ union voted 702-558 this week to turn down 37 furlough hours spread over six weeks. The ballots were counted Friday.
“I am deeply disappointed a solution could not be found to avert the layoff of these 100 troopers,” said Col. Peter Munoz, director of the Michigan State Police. “There is no doubt the loss of these officers will impact the level of service the department provides, but today our concern is for the 100 department members who will be unemployed come Sunday.”
Law enforcement officials have said diminished police ranks lead to reduced traffic safety and longer response time to calls. There will be fewer than 1,000 troopers left on the job, the lowest level in 40 years.
Michigan State Troopers Association President Michael Moorman said the “no” vote was not a reflection of the troopers’ unwillingness to save the jobs.
“Our members are fed up with the lack of public safety priorities in Michigan, which have been discussed for years, yet never acted upon,” Moorman said.
He said the state has lost about 2,000 police officers since 2000, including 431 from the State Police.
“Whether 100 troopers are laid off or 1,569 of our members take furlough time, the result is the same; it’s troopers off the street,” he said. “This exacerbates the already dangerously reduced level of public safety. Gov. (Jennifer) Granholm and our lawmakers have clearly done a disservice to Michigan’s citizens.”
The layoffs were ordered by Granholm as part of a plan to erase the $1.3 billion budget deficit this year. The layoffs will save the state $1.7 million through Sept. 30, the end of the budget year. The job losses include 82 recruits from last year’s trooper school and 18 from the class of 2004. There are likely to be additional layoffs next year, as the state wrestles with a $1.7 billion shortfall.
Other state employees were ordered to take furlough days, but the troopers’ contract exempts them from the unpaid time off. The troopers’ vote could have overridden the contract provision.
“Regrettably, a majority of the members of the (troopers’ union) failed to accept furlough days and make the sacrifice other state employees have made to balance the budget,” said Liz Boyd, spokeswoman for Granholm. “As a result, and because of tough economic times, the layoffs of 100 state troopers will now proceed as planned.”
Law enforcement officials have said the layoffs are especially difficult
because road patrols will be cut back when the state is also slashing $41 million from revenue sharing that is used to pay for police and fire protection in communities.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said Michigan has the highest crime rate in the Midwest and the fewest police officers per capita.
“That’s a bad combination, and now we have 100 less troopers on the streets,” said Bouchard, who is a Republican candidate for governor. “It leads to less safety for the public. It’s a lack of priorities in this state.”
Rep. Richard LeBlanc, D-Westland, who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee on State Police, added: “Along with the revenue sharing cuts, we really do place our state in a difficult position with regard to public safety.”
Rural communities that don’t have their own police departments will be hurt most by the layoffs, he said.
LeBlanc said there is hope federal aid will be available next month to bring back some of the laid off officers, but added: “This will be difficult to undo now.”
Office of Community Oriented Policing Services grants will be announced in mid-July. The grants are intended to hire or retain 5,000 police officers across the country. Applications have been filed requesting $8.3 billion in grants for 39,000 officers, the U.S. Department of Justice reports.
Sen. Valde Garcia, R-Howell, who oversees the Sate Police budget for the Senate, remarked: “It should never have come to this. We should have found money at the state level to keep the troopers on the street. Some folks will be upset and point to the troopers, but I don’t think they should take furlough days. We should have taken care of this.”
Chris Luty, vice president of the troopers’ union, said State Police have taken deferred pay and unpaid time off several times since 1980. He also noted that the association handed over $400,000 to prevent layoffs in 2007.
“Once again, the burden of fixing the harm caused by misguided public safety priorities has fallen to the troopers and sergeants of the State Police to fix,” Luty said.
I can’t believe that Granholm couldn’t have found other ways to cut the deficit. These troopers put themselves on the line each and every day. Police and fire protection should be the last things cut from the budget.
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