Plymouth Township Fire Department Sees 23 Percent Cut in Projected Budget

Plymouth Township’s fire department will lose about a quarter of its funding in the township’s proposed 2012 budget.

In a proposed budget presented Tuesday at a Plymouth Township Board of Trustees special meeting, the fire department sustained the largest projected cuts, with a 23 percent reduction with cuts coming across the board.

Township Supervisor Richard Reaume said the actual amounts of cuts for salaries and other categories haven’t yet been determined. He said the department’s cuts — primarily union contract negotiations — were among the topics discussed during a two-hour closed session that preceded the public portion of the meeting.

The catalyst of the cuts, Reaume said, was the lost revenue from the township no longer sharing fire services with the City of Plymouth. The township will lose about $950,000 from the city, according to budget projections.

Reaume characterized the projected budget as a working document that still can be adjusted.

With the budget, Plymouth Township faces about a $195,000 shortfall with  $12,097,000 in projected revenue and $12,291,514 in expenditures.

This is subject to change, however, as Township Clerk Joe Bridgman requested health benefits for deputy clerk Eric Bacyinski, who he said is the only full-time township employee who does not receive health benefits. Bridgman also requested two part-time employees for 2012, a federal election year. One would come on to work permanently and one would work through the election cycle.