Scottville dropping Ludington police contract?

[masonco]

I can't remember where I saw it, but I read that Scottville is considering dropping their agreement with Ludington police in favor of hiring a part time police chief and/or making agreement with MCSO to cut expenditures and because Ludington was increasing their charges a lot.

Has anyone else seen or heard about this?

[AQUAMAN]

The LPD Chief is NOT an hourly position, and I find it hard to believe the Capt's. is either. Both are/should be salaried in nature, irregardless of hours spent on the job. So, if they are claiming overtime, it's a moot point, not legal, nor with any LE merit. Also, why would the original contract from COL go up by 85%? That never got any clarity nor reasonable excuse. It means the contract for $50K went up to about $95K, plus the bonuses. In the old days Scottville had a Chief and Deputy, sharing the same 1 car. They afforded it for many decades. They also always had the back-up of the MCSD, and still do. I would think that without any fanfare, the MCSD should be able to take up the slack either way. Let's see what Cole's take is on this later in the year when 2014 is closer to the time the contract expires.

[Willy]

 Doesn't the Sheriff have jurisdiction over the entire County? So isn't it the Sheriffs responsibility to provide policing for towns and villages without their own police department?

[XLFD]

The problem is that Scottville does still maintain a small police department, and the question now may be whether they continue that, consolidate into the MCSO, or get an administration deal with the MCSO similar to the previous inter-city deal.

[XLFD]

Rob Alway, whose main stomping ground is Scottville, has weighed in on some extra news for this story with an extra link included to the sheriff's office talks:  http://www.masoncountypress.com/2013/01/21/scottville-to-end-joint-...

 

[masonco]

Saw yesterday they did indeed drop the contract with Ludington posted it then saw XFLD posted it too. Here is the other article from same source.

Scottville may enter contract with with county: http://www.masoncountypress.com/2013/01/21/scottville-may-enter-int...

[Willy]

Why doesn't the City put a tax increase up for a vote and let the residents of Scottville decide if they want to provide the additional funds that are needed. Let the people decide.

[XLFD]

The City of Scottville is in a bad place; they already have the biggest tax rates in the county, they've lost over the last few years the main draws from their downtown area, have had their problems with the mushroom factory and other local initiatives.  I doubt whether a tax increase vote would pass, and if it did, there may be further exoduses from Scottville.  There's likely no easy answers.

[XLFD]

Lost in the news of the Open Meetings Act declaration by the Ludington City Manager, Scottville also had a meeting on Monday just before the events transpired in Ludington.  As noted, this person was up for the position of Scottville Planning Commissioner by appointment.  Two other people applied for the position, both from Scottville.  Though, I have deep roots in Scottville, I have been living in Ludington since 1994, so I believe it is definitely best for Scottville to be represented by natives in something as important as their Planning Commission.  I definitely would have been motivated to try and help Scottville out of its problems, but I'm sure I would have probably been looked at as a divisive and polarizing figure for my Libertarian outlook.  They also discussed the police issue in detail as seen here from the COLDNews.

[XLFD]

As a side note, it's good to see that Scottville Mayor Joe Baxter is now talking to the various police agencies without having to do a field sobriety test.