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Archived Story
Township board still divided on police issue
Published 9:41am Tuesday, September 22, 2009By JESSICA SIEFF
Niles Daily Star
Monday night’s relatively standard meeting of the Niles Charter Township Board may have given a glimpse into tonight’s second budget hearing.
Before the board on Monday were a list of resolutions to be passed which included a renewal of the 1 mill levy that voters passed last November for police protection by the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department.
The resolution was passed by the board with Supervisor Jim Kidwell and Trustee Michael Bailey in opposition.
Last Monday, Kidwell announced his desire for a Niles Township Police Department when he included funding for such an operation in his budget proposal to the board.
Kidwell claimed prior to the presentation of his budget that his police department, which would be based out of the Law Enforcement Complex on Silverbrook, home of both the Niles City Police Department and Michigan State Police, would have significant savings in cost in comparison to the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department.
Sheriff Paul Bailey disputed that claim, along with some members of the board, saying that Kidwell was working off of preliminary figures rather than a finalized number.
That number was presented last night, coming in at just over $838,000.
Kidwell has maintained that the current choice of police protection could be changed, should the township board find it in their interest to do so.
Meaning that even with revisions to his budget, Kidwell may not abandon the idea of a township run police department.
The board will meet again tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Niles Township Hall for a second budget hearing.
Kidwell is bound and determined to FORCE a township police department on us even tho most of us voted against it. Most of us remember the reputation the last township department had and we don’t want our tax dollars waisted. The Sheriff’s Department is doing an excellent job. The people voted AGAINST the township department and now Kidwell is maintaining that the current choice of police protection could be changed if the board finds it their interest to do so…..what happened to the “will of the people”? Kidwell’s reputation preceeds him (not a good thing) and I can see he hasn’t changed any at all…………not a good thing for the township.
oops “waisted” should be “wasted”
seams to me if the tax payers here in the township can come up with the money to waste on a parking lot at brandywine ele. we should have a police dept too,i’d feel allot safer with police than a pot hole free parking lot
First of all, the parking lot at Brandywine elementary has NOTHING to do with the Township. That money came from a bond issue voted for by the taxpayers of the district. The notion of an independent Township police department is absurd-for now. Mr. Kidwell wants his own little army to run, as he tells us that he will not only be the full time supervisor and full time police officer, he will be the full time chief of police too. Unless that is he has some more kids that need jobs.