By Mike Kruzman /news@whmi.com


Hartland Township officials recently reviewed the state of their police protection within the municipality.

Township Manager Bob West provided the Board of Trustees an update during the information and discussion portion of their latest meeting. Without a dedicated law enforcement department of their own, or a contract, Hartland relies on courtesy road patrol coverage of the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office and Michigan State Police.

West compiled response time numbers for all of Livingston County’s municipalities that rely on this service or a dedicated Sheriff’s Office contract. Year-to-date, he showed that Hartland is showing a 16-minute, 14-second response time average, which is 3rd best out of 13. The US-23/M-59 interchange was noted as being a strength, here. West pointed out that that is an average, and that if the call is for a non-safety issue, it generally isn’t prioritized. In the case of medical emergencies, he said that their Fire Department is much quicker. West quoted the Hartland Deerfield Fire Authority as showing a response time of 8-minutes 30-seconds for last January.

Should residents or officials wish to explore what a contract for dedicated service would cost, West also provided those numbers from the Sheriff’s Office. Eight-hour shifts would cost the township roughly $151,000 this year, $156,000 next year, and $163,000 in 2023. Twelve-hour shifts run approximately 50% higher. West said he checks all these numbers monthly and brings them to the board occasionally, for their consideration.

West told WHMI, “Ultimately we have to strike that balance of ‘are we getting enough benefit versus the cost.’ We don’t have a dedicated safety millage other than fire protection, so this would be funded 100% out of the general fund or a millage proposal.” West continued, saying that based on the last citizen survey they did, the people of Hartland Township indicated that they felt safe and weren’t ready to entertain a police millage.

West said at this time, due to all of these factors, he’s not recommending or requesting a change in how they do things.