Politics & Government

Plymouth Township Posts Notice for Fire Millage Hearing

Township officials will hold a public hearing to discuss the ballot question at 7 p.m. Monday.

Plymouth Township property owners will have a chance to speak about a hotly contested fire millage issue Monday when the township holds a public hearing on the matter.

Residents on Monday will speak for or against the merits of passing a millage to maintain firefighter-provided paramedic services to the township. Those services are slated to be cut in 2012 when the city of Plymouth pulls out of its existing shared fire services agreement with the township to join the city of Northville's department.

That departure leaves the township without nearly $1 million of revenue it would have received from the city. To make up the deficit, the township for scaled-back services for a smaller coverage area. The Citizens Action Group of Plymouth Township, a group of residents and firefighters, have pushed back against these cuts, of the township's property owners to levy a millage to fund the same level of services.

Find out what's happening in Plymouth-Cantonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Plymouth Township Supervisor Richard Reaume verified Tuesday that the township posted public notices outside Plymouth Township Hall and in the Plymouth Observer, the township's newspaper of record, to meet its legal obligation to make residents aware of the hearing. The township Dec. 6 at a special meeting after Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Wendy Baxter verified the petition was legal.

Monday's hearing will begin at 7 p.m. at .

Find out what's happening in Plymouth-Cantonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The township and the Citizens Action Group of Plymouth Township are due in court again Monday, hours before the public hearing, after Marvin Stempien, a former circuit judge and legal representative for the citizens group, filed an injunction to ensure that the township meets its legal obligations after accepting the petition, according to Thomas Kelly and Jennifer Mann from the citizens group. Details of the legal briefing have not yet been made available to Patch.

Deputy employees to receive benefits from township

Plymouth Township's 2012 budget now will include health benefits for its deputy employees beginning Jan. 1. Until then, the deputy employees are the only full-time township employees without the same benefits package as their peers.

Deputy Clerk Eric Bacyinski and Deputy Treasurer Amy Hammye will receive health coverage in addition to their $45,000-per-year salaries. Under a township ordinance, only the township board can approve the deputy employees' participation in the health coverage. The measure passed 5-1, with Reaume casting the lone dissenting vote.

The issue had been brought to the board earlier this year by Clerk Joe Bridgman, who lobbied for the deputy employees to receive the benefits package. Bridgman was not at the meeting Tuesday.

Under the agreement, both employees will monitor their hours with electronic timekeeping to ensure they meet full-time criteria, as they do not receive hourly pay.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here