By Jeremy Carroll
C & G Staff Writer

ROYAL OAK — After pushing off the potential promotions of three police officers to the rank of sergeant for several weeks, City Commissioners told city officials they did not want to micromanage the department and that the police chief could promote anyone to any position as long as he stayed within the set budget.

The move came during a special session Aug. 19 to discuss the current budget crisis in relationship to the Police Department. The Fire Department and other services will be the focus of future meetings.

“It’s important that we don’t get into micromanaging,” Commissioner Terry Drinkwine said.

For weeks, Police Chief Ted Quisenberry’s request to promote three officers to sergeant had been pushed back. The promotions would come at a cost of $28,200, according to previous memos.

Commissioners said the promotions could be made if the budget remains the same.

At the meeting, City Manager Tom Hoover also presented the commission with an organizational chart of the department if the cuts that need to happen over the next five years were to take effect immediately. Among the cuts would be 13 uniformed personnel — 11 patrol and two sergeants — a reduction of the number of detectives by three, elimination of four part-time clerks and the hiring of one additional person to work dispatch.

The plan would reduce the department from 103 employees to 88.

“I don’t believe what I just proposed is practical,” Hoover said after the presentation.

City officials previously issued a report that called for the elimination of 42 city positions over a five-year period through attrition.

After some commissioners called the plan to cut the department down to 88 employees “doomsday” and “a worst-case scenario,” Finance Director Don Johnson said that wasn’t the case at all.

“This is neither,” he said. “This is what we expect. It is just as likely to be worse than this than it is to be better.”

Among the other recommendations to the department, the commission committed to keeping the school liaison position while exploring the need to eliminate the Crime Prevention position; have the police chief and city manager work together to find innovative approaches in organizing the department; do a time study to see how often patrol officers work dispatch; and supported the recommendation of the elimination of the Traffic Safety Bureau while moving that department’s responsibilities among the patrol officers.

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Carroll at jcarroll@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1110.