GLADSTONE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Gladstone’s Public Safety Department is seeking public support for critical equipment and personnel needs.
According to Public Safety Director Ron Robinson, the department needs to update its firefighting gear.
“Our pants, our jackets, our Nomex hoods—those all need to be replaced, by NFPA standards, every ten years,” he said. “One set of turnout gear right now is $4,235. Looking at up to 30 firefighters, that’s a significant cost.”
Another major need is a school resource officer.
“We are the only municipal agency in all of Delta County that does not have a school resource officer,” Robinson said. “School resource officers are vitally important. The schools are willing to pay 50% of that officer. Unfortunately, the City has not been able to absorb that extra 50%.”
Robinson says the department also needs to start saving money to replace its current 1996 fire truck in the coming years.
“Industry standard kind of recommends that you get rid of your truck after 30 years, so you’re looking at 2026, that truck will be at the 30-year mark,” he said. “We’re not looking at buying a fire truck right now. We could probably get away to 2029 – 2030, but when that time comes, it would be neglectful not to have that money.”
After exploring several options, the Gladstone City Commission is considering a special assessment with a millage, under Public Act 33 of 1951.
“The state allows municipalities to institute a millage to fund specifically police and fire,” explained Commissioner Brad Mantela.
The millage rate would start at 4.5 mills. However, it would be re-evaluated each year.
“Say next year we only need 2.5 mills or 2, it’s based on the budget needs,” Robinson said. “I can assure you, nobody in Public Safety or any of the commissioners are going to just say, ‘We want this.’ Everything we’re going to put into our budget is a need, not a want.”
With the issue sparking debate among residents at public hearings and online, Public Safety hosted “Coffee With a Cop” Thursday morning at The Dewdrop Family Restaurant. Residents had the opportunity to ask questions and discuss concerns with Director Robinson and other Public Safety officers.
According to Mantela, a common concern is the fact that the money would be going into the General Fund.
“That is true, but Public Safety is funded out of the General Fund revenue,” he said. “This money cannot be used for anything else except public safety. It will be audited every year, it will go into dedicated accounts for the things that Public Safety needs, outlined by the Public Safety director on a yearly basis.”
Robinson says the decision to pursue a special assessment millage was not made lightly. He says officials want to put as little burden on taxpayers as possible.
“Out of every dollar that people pay in tax, about 26 cents actually comes to the City of Gladstone to operate everything under the General Fund,” said Robinson. “Nobody wants to pay more, but the unfortunate part is costs have increased. We’ve had to reduce our staffing. We’ve cut our budget to the point that we’ve lost resources. It gets harder and harder to do what we need to do to keep the residents safe. If we don’t start thinking to the future, I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
The Gladstone City Council will decide whether or not to move forward with the proposed special assessment and millage rate at a final public hearing on June 10 at 6 p.m. Mantela and Robinson encourage residents to attend and share their input with the commission.
