Tom Tolen / news@WHMI.com


Voters in the city of Brighton will be going to the polls next month to elect four members to the City Council. But that’s not the only thing that will be on the ballot.
On election day Nov. 7th, Brighton voters will also be deciding on a 0.5-mill (one-half mill) police issue for 10 years.

Police Chief Brent Pirochta tells WHMI the millage is needed for a lot of reasons.

For one, it would replace the 0.3674-mill police equipment levy that expires this year. For another, he says the city’s general fund, while covering operating funds allocated to various departments, including the police, in his words, “does not always cover the specific needs of the police department adequately. Additional funding through a millage,” Pirochta says, “ensures that the police have the necessary resources for equipment, technology and personnel.”

The 0.5-mills, if passed, would generate roughly $280,000 in the first year it's levied. The millage would cost the average homeowner in Brighton $50 per year. If the millage fails, Pirochta says the police department, again, in his words, “would face the challenging prospect of having to use essential life safety equipment and technology for a longer duration than recommended.” He says the result would be to “not only strain the resources of the police department, but also pose a significant risk to the safety of both our community and our officers.”

The Brighton Police Department has 17 full-time officers and three reserve officers. The 17 sworn officers include Chief Pirochta, Deputy Chief Craig Flood, four road patrol sergeants, one detective sergeant, eight road patrol officers, a school resource officer and a uniformed investigator.

Pirochta's full responses are attached.