Consolidation is nothing new to American Business. The Banking industry has been going through several years of consolidation. At one time there were thousands of Banks across the country. Today, because of consolidation, there are a lot less. The passenger airline industry is yet another example of consolidation.

Consolidation is not new to the Public Sector. School Districts are consolidating or merging to help cut costs by achieving economies of scale. In law enforcement, we have seen several communities consolidate dispatching, or 911 services into a central or countrywide dispatch system.

Because of the fiscal crisis the State finds itself in, partly because of the economy being in a recession, and partly due the unexpected negative effects of Proposal A, local units of government are looking for other ways to cut their costs through consolidation.

As News and Views goes to print, the communities of Bloomfield Township and the City of Birmingham are in talks to consolidate their police departments. These are two upscale communities that would never have considered merging their law enforcement departments had it not been for declining revenues.

As taxpayers, we are all for cutting taxes. As public employees we are all against cutting our wages and benefits. MAFF believes that consolidation can mean the elimination of benefits, which may include those as important as pensions and retiree health care. Current employees will see a change in their wages and other benefits. If the employers are looking to cut their expenses through consolidation, that can only result in cuts in the areas of employee wages and benefits.

MAFF believes that the wages and all benefits of law enforcement personnel must be as strongly protected as our pensions and retiree health care. In order to do so, it is critical that MAFF be made aware as early as possible if your Employer is considering merging or consolidating its police department with a neighboring community.

Consolidation may be the wave of the future, but must not be at the cost of reducing our pay and benefits.

Thanks for your support,

Fred Timpner, Executive Director, MAFF

Flashpoint
Summer 2008