Feb. 22--Millions of dollars would be reinvested into Detroit's public safety departments under a proposed adjustment plan for the beleaguered city.
A disclosure statement filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, along with the city's bankruptcy plan of adjustment, proposes reinvesting millions to improve operating performance and infrastructure in the police and fire departments.
According to the statement, between this fiscal year and fiscal year 2018, the city would spend an additional $114.2 million on the Police Department and an additional $82.1 million on the Fire Department -- which includes EMS -- on fleet improvements, facilities and technology.
The Police Department's current budget is more than $370 million and the budget for the fire department is $176.8 million, officials said earlier this week. Both departments have been plagued by aging fleets, broken equipment, obsolete technology and slow response times. The Police Department also has struggled with low case-clearance rates, while firefighters are often forced to purchase supplies the department doesn't provide.
To combat the Police Department's problems, the plan proposes investments that would reduce response times to the national average, improve case-clearance rates, update the fleet and facilities, improve technology systems, improve morale and overhaul the department's organization.
Since taking over the department in July, Police Chief James Craig has made sweeping changes like eliminating 12-hour shifts and overhauling the administrative staff.
The statement released Friday says the Police Department has identified "a fully integrated public safety solution," that would cost about $7 million and would provide police, fire and EMS "with integrated computer aided dispatch, records management and reporting. An integrated product such as this will allow for much-needed data exchanges between agencies and will improve efficiency and operations."
According to the statement, reinvestment over the next 10 years will involve spending millions on the build-out of new precincts, a training facility and other facility and precinct improvements. The department would spend more than $38 million on technology infrastructure, such as replacing handheld radios and implementing a "fully integrated Public Safety IT system."
Under the plan, the department would implement a three-year fleet vehicle replacement cycle; spend money on replacing Tasers, vests and body cameras, and expects to hire 250 civilian employees and redeploy sworn officers. According to the statement, the number of employees in the department would increase to 2,895 by 2018. That's compared to current staffing of 2,627 -- 2,351 sworn officers and 276 civilian employees, according to a police spokesman.
The department would save $10.5 million on facility lease terminations and is expected to make money on collections from false alarm calls and expects to save millions over a decade through attrition of senior officers and hiring of less-experienced officers, the statement says.
The plan also calls for reinvesting millions in fire and EMS to, among other things, modernize the city's fleet of fire vehicles and apparatus like ladders and pumping equipment and update the department's computer hardware and software.
Over the next decade, under the proposed plan, the fire department would spend $21 million on seven new firehouses; $32 million to repair existing facilities; and $19 million on fleet equipment, breathing units and gear. The city would start replacing 20 vehicles a year, implement a preventive maintenance program and cross-train first responders and firefighters.
Under the plan, the department would generate more than $33 million on increased collections from additional EMS and fleet personnel and increased fire marshal personnel.
According to the statement, the number of employees in the department would increase to 1,228 by 2016. The statement says there are 1,183 employees in the fire department this year. Jackson, the interim fire commission, said Tuesday there are 778 firefighters. The city's EMS has roughly 180 field personnel -- paramedics and emergency medical technicians, Joseph Barney, the EMS union president, said.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig declined to comment Friday, saying he hadn't read through the plan of adjustment and disclosure statement yet. Interim Fire Commissioner Jonathan Jackson could not be reached for comment.
Contact Gina Damron: 313-223-4526 or [email protected]
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