Ole King Cole is a Funny Guy.

[shinblind]

Sheriff Kim Cole

Answer this one question.

In a county that is losing population what is the sudden need to add at least one other road patrol (3 officers) a school liaison officer (1), a digital forensics officer (1) and a constant presence of $20/hr

part time retired officers in the Court House (4+?). Lets see that looks like 9 additional officers plus the associated equipment needed for them to carry out their tasks.

And all he ask for is an additional millage to cover this.

Kim Cole is a real funny guy.

Instead lets just go with the liaison officer if his wages, benefits and equipment expense will be covered by additional funds from State and Federal sources as you claim you can find.

And while you are at it why don't you start another appeal to have door lockouts installed in the Court House much like you did for the schools and forget about the part time retired officers.

And answer my initial question, in a county that is losing population why the need for more road patrols?

[Willy]

He could deputize the beach patrol and have them scout the County in a golf cart. I bet I know why he wants a digital forensic officer. So he can dig into the computers of the members of this forum. Imagine being able to get all the personal information on anyone that crosses him or anyone who makes comments about how he is performing his duties. This is something he could share with his buddies at City Hall including the Police Chief and City Manager. I bet he is going for the gold by requesting more than what can be given him so that he can negotiate for at least a digital forensics officer.

[AQUAMAN]

Do most of you reading this know what the MCSO costs us citizens???? $3 Million annually plus the LPD is another $2 Million. That totals $5 Million per year, an astoundingly high and ridiculous amount of money for this area! Only 25,000 people for $5 Million??? And they don't even have a clue to how to be Detectives, or peace officers, just a fake security, with Drug fatalities increasing by the day, and lawlessness increasing incrementally by the day. It's a JOKE!!!! Many on the expensive and union payrolls, not to protect and serve, nor "in God we Trust" types, just BUllies that brutalize the locals for profit and jollies, pitiful bunch for the most part, and incapable of using real LE tactics to do their jobs. I took a survey of surrounding towns here in West Mich. and none even come close to 50% of the annual budget for LPD, not even close, most are around 15-20%. And we are supposed to be Americans? With Freedoms first, and dictatorial government last?

[Willy]

Which reminds me, have you heard anything about that guy they found at the disc golf course? I haven't heard a thing but then again, I don't read the LDN or listen to local radio. I listen mostly to Wisconsin stations.

[XLFD]

Don't be surprised to see a major update on that here within the next couple of days.  There has been no update since Sheriff Cole released the name officially on September 27 after bashing this website for a couple of days, when we reported what was known on the street.  

The sheriff has taken a lot of time and effort to let you know he wants a lot more deputies, but does he apprise you of the findings of the investigation in a timely manner?  Walkley, with his brother, operated a mobile meth lab, reportedly dealing this poison throughout the community and somehow the manner of his death in a school forest is somehow unimportant to the public when he should have been serving the first year of his 6 years minimum prison sentence.

Our system owes us a lot of answers in this, and I've got some.  Consider this a teaser.

[Willy]

Thanks for that information Aquaman. 5 million does seem a bit much. Manistee police dept has a budget close to half of what Ludington's expenses are.

[shinblind]

Especially when you factor in the decrease in population in Ludington's population in the last 15 years the current cost of maintaining the LPD makes no sense.

If anything needed clear cutting around here it has to be the bloated budget of the Ludington Police Department.

Second on the list should be the Mason County Sheriff's Department.

[shinblind]

Flint West?

Seeing as the pension part of the fringe benefits are underfunded by either $7 million or $10 Million depending who you believe and are guaranteed, yes dyin' in this case there is no Santa Claus unless you are employed by the city.

Oh wait a minute, that wasn't the question.

As I see it our only salvation is that by Shay's ineptness and corruption mismanaging funds that the Governor has to appoint a new  special City Manager with the authority to rescind all previous City commitments including pension obligations elsewise the city declares bankruptcy.

Oh wait that wasn't the question either.

The city water and sewer rates are guaranteed to increase 3% per year for ever. Check it out, the Nostradamus's of the city council approved this act. And coincidently since the life expediency of the improvements coincides with the length of the debt, it assures that whom ever is living here 40 years hence, that they will have to suffer through perpetual indebtedness. 

Much like the  phantom lead goosenecks, Ludington's public debt is forever.

[AQUAMAN]

Well said shinblind, and a nice post by Willy too on the Manistee PD. Shows in no uncertain terms we are wasting precious tax dollars up the ying-yang on police budgets that should be half or less than present. Now that they got this bloated and out of control, what measures need to be implemented to decrease those budgets?

[XLFD]

Shinblind, I loved the reference to "the boots" that Sheriff Cole's leadership (and over a sixth of a million dollars) brought to each and every schoolroom door to make us all feel safer in sending our kids to school.  It should be noted that since the boots have been installed in 2016 (with some fuzzy figures), no active shooter has killed a single Mason County student.  

That totals the same amount in the 150 years of public schooling in Mason County before that, but Sheriff Cole somehow convinced the county's educators that it was needed and worth over $200 more per door for a similar Michigan product, which our more frugal friends in Manistee County got instead.  

Did you hear that Sheriff Cole is also petitioning for more money to purchase the 'pontoon' boat from the USCG for his department?  This is a more reasonable request that should be reviewed.  More road patrol when there is no reasonable justification should evoke some discussion among the county commission to even place it on a ballot.