Allegan officials open exploratory talks to contract police services with county as city seeks $500,000 annually for infrastructure

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 cost of maintaining city-owned venues such as the Griswold Auditorium and Griswold Auditorium and other facilities.

Dye described contracting police services with Allegan County as a potential savings measure. “A current proposal could look like this,” he said, and staff’s preliminary estimate is that the city would see nearly $750,000 in savings in the first year and about $500,000 annually thereafter. He emphasized those figures are preliminary and that council would make any final decision. Dye said the city cannot legally borrow from its water and sewer funds to shore up general fund services, citing state restrictions, and that other options under consideration include trimming expenditures and, if the community desires, a voter-approved millage.

Police Chief Gibson, invited to speak after the manager’s remarks, said he had informed officers of the preliminary discussion at a department meeting earlier that evening and described the personal impact the change would have on staff. “Anytime you hear that your position may be in jeopardy, you can imagine that the folks are upset,” Gibson said, stressing long service by officers, local hiring and community relationships. He warned that a move to county-based policing would change pay and benefits and could leave former city officers low in seniority within a unionized sheriff’s department.

During public comment, Scott Beltman, identified as a county District 4 commissioner, said the Board of Commissioners had not yet considered the proposal and cautioned that county officials had not weighed in. “Without looking at it, I don’t know” whether there would be net savings, he said, urging further analysis and promising to raise the topic at the next county meeting.

Mayor Tracy Perrigo and council members formed a subcommittee (members Canales, Walker and Zeder) to examine options, including consulting with other West Michigan municipalities that contract with counties. Dye said staff will continue exploratory work and host community engagement so residents can weigh in before council acts.

The council did not take formal action on contracting police services during the meeting; Dye and Chief Gibson described the discussions as preliminary. Next steps specified by council include deeper financial analysis, engagement with the police department and consultations with neighboring municipalities that have contracted public safety services.