The Washington Independent » city council

Budget pressures lead Lansing to cut police office space

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:27:37 +0000

The continued budget pressures on the City of Lansing have led officials to eliminate a rented space on the city’s south side that has most recently housed the investigation unit of the police department.

Until 2010, the facility housed investigations and patrol personnel to service the south end of Lansing.

Now, however, in order to save an estimated $250,000 the city is consolidating all police activities into a facility on the city’s north end, a memo given to the Public Safety Committee of the City Council says.

The Administration [of Mayor Virg Bernero] has now determined for management and financial reasons to continue its consolidation of police functions by housing all patrol and investigative divisions at 740 Prudden St. This will further enhance overall management of police functions, and will reduce costs in future budget years. The move is currently anticipated to be accomplished by the end of September, and the lease at Everett Plaza will be terminated as quickly as the lease provides.

From a budgetary perspective, consolidating the Investigations Division currently housed at Everett Plaza with the Patrol Division currently housed at 740 Prudden Street reduces costs. The City currently spends nearly $700,000 annually to lease these spaces, including utilities and janitorial services. There is sufficient room in the currently leased space at Prudden Street to house the Investigations Division, so eliminating the Everett Plaza lease is projected to reduce costs by more than $250,000 in FY13 and FY14.

The move, the memo says, is going to cost $50,000.

Consolidation is another step made necessary as the state revenue sharing and property tax values continue to decline in the housing crisis. Earlier this year, Bernero eliminated several police positions — after some were saved by a grant. He originally proposed eliminating 75 such positions. Bernero and City Council placed a ballot question to increase property taxes to fund public safety in May but it was voted down.

Monica Conyers Identified in Federal Corruption Investigation

Matthew DeLong — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:08:34 +0000

More news from Michigan:

City Councilwoman Monica Conyers has been identified in an FBI bribery probe as “Council Member A,” the city official investigators say received more than $6,000 in cash bribes in exchange for a deciding vote that approved a $1.2 billion sewage disposal contract with the waste management company Synagro Technologies.

According to a report from The Associated Press early Wednesday morning, Conyers is now the target of the FBI probe that lead two Synagro representatives to plead guilty this year. James Rosendall, the former Synagro Technologies vice president in Michigan and consultant Rayford Jackson have both pleaded guilty to counts of bribing the city official, now identified as Conyers.

In 2007, Monica Conyers, who is married to Congressman John Conyers Jr., was the deciding vote in the $1.2 billion contract with Synagro. She had been opposed to the contract early on but changed her vote to approve the deal.

The councilwoman has been offered a plea deal which she has yet to accept to avoid federal prosecution.

Live Updates from Wasilla

Aaron Wiener — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:32:01 +0000

Laura McGann is twittering live from a press conference with Sarah Palin’s successor as mayor of Wasilla, Dianne Keller. First, a little background on Keller: when Palin was completing her term as mayor in 2002, she backed Keller to replace her over her husband’s stepmother, Faye Palin, who supports abortion rights. Keller’s term as mayor has not been without controversy; she barely survived a vote of no confidence after she refused to heed the city council’s 4-2 vote asking her to resign, following a scandal in which Keller allegedly violated city policy by unfairly favoring a local developer over the competition. She’s also the Chair for the Statewide Moose Safety & Rebuilding Task Force, in case you were wondering.

Here’s what Laura’s telling us:

Gearing up for a press conference with the mayor. Only four other reporters here. (5:31 PM EST)

City of Wasilla site got 686k hits on Friday. (5:42)

City council members are not full time. (5:55) (Palin served on the council from 1992-1996.)

Press conference over. (6:05)

Evidently, it wasn’t terribly eventful. But what do you expect, when the biggest story on the front page of Wasilla’s top newspaper is about a thwarted piglet theft?