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Allegan officials open exploratory talks to contract police services with county as city seeks $500,000 annually for infrastructure
Summary
City Manager Joel Dye told the Allegan City Council that the city needs roughly $500,000 a year to finance immediate infrastructure work and is in early, exploratory talks with Allegan County about contracting police services, a change city staff estimate could save up to $750,000 in the first year; Police Chief Gibson and residents voiced concern about personnel impacts and service levels.
City Manager Joel Dye told the City of Allegan Council on April 14 that the city is facing mounting infrastructure and operating costs and needs about $500,000 a year on average for the next five years to fund urgent street and water projects. Dye said staff are exploring options, including selling bonds and, preliminarily, contracting police services with the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department to realize immediate savings.
Dye said the city’s 10-year infrastructure backlog — which he estimated at roughly $14.2 million for streets and related needs — cannot be met within the current budget and that staff expect to sell bonds to cover a large share of the work. He described multiple pressures, including rising paving and water-treatment costs, mandated lead-service-line replacements and the…
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