Ypsi Township policing, and the reptilian humanoid menace

I was going to write something really thoughtful tonight about the cost of Washtenaw County deputees, but that was before my friend Andy introduced me to Colleen Thomas… Now I’m in some kind of trance.

OK, back to work…

Speaking of the cost of Washtenaw County sheriff’s deputies, once you factor in the overhead and related expenses, it works out to be about $176,108 per year, per deputy. At least that’s the number put forward by the Police Services Steering Committee, according to AnnArbor.com. And here, for those unfamiliar with the situation, is why it’s relevant to us.

…Currently, 74 deputies are contracted for by townships, villages and school districts. By far the largest contracting entity is Ypsilanti Township, which is currently exploring forming a new police department with the city of Ypsilanti instead of contracting with the county…

Speaking of which, in last week’s election, the people of Ypsi Township voted 8717 to 6222 to raise their taxes in order to preserve their current police staffing levels. Here’s a clip from the Ypsi Courier:

Ypsilanti Township voters approved a 1.5 mills police protection proposal on Tuesday, which will enable them to keep the 31 deputies currently assigned to the area.

If the initiative had failed, like a similar one did in 2009 by less than 170 votes, then the township would probably have had to cut seven to 10 more deputies from their ranks, said Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo, who spent the day passing out literature on the measure at the polls.

“Any less than 31 jeopardizes the safety of the community and the safety of the officers,” Stumbo said. “This is just so huge. It’s really hard to describe. I could cry I am so happy.”

The millage passed by 2495 votes, or 58.35 percent in favor to 41.65 percent opposed. For a homeowner with a home worth $100,000, the measure means an additional $150 in taxes annually.

The proposal, which is for 2010 through 2012, will bring in approximately $2,032,000 million in this first year..

I’d encourage those interested in the subject to read through our recent conversations on the seemingly insufficient policing of Ypsi Township and the possibility of the City and Township joining together to provide police services.

By way of background, the City of Ypsilanti currently employees 34.5 police officers for 22,000 people in a 4.5 square mile area. That’s 1 officer per 638 people, or 1 for every 0.13 square mile. The Township, meanwhile, contracts for 31 sheriff’s deputies for 49,000 people in a 31.8 square mile area. That’s 1 deputy per 1580 people, or 1 for every square mile.

I’m encouraged that a majority of Township voters saw the value of, at the very least, maintaining the current level of police staffing. Given the comments left by citizens of the Township on this site, I wouldn’t have thought that possible. I’d like to think that it reflects some kind of fundamental shift in thinking, and that people in the Township are coming to accept that being part of a community means more than owning lots of ammunition and paying the absolute minimum when it comes to taxes, but I suspect that this vote could have been based primarily on fear, and not the recognition that sometimes we pay taxes for services that our neighbors use more than we do, just because it’s the right thing to do. Regardless of what brought us here, though, I’m encouraged by the vote, and thankful that they chose not to become a lawless region like that separating Pakistan from Afghanistan.

update: I didn’t mean to imply in any way, by including that video of Ms. Thomas, that the folks in the Township are anything less than human. While I sometimes question their motivations, I have no reason to think they’re not of this planet.

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16 Comments

  1. ETR
    Posted November 8, 2010 at 11:20 pm | Permalink

    She doesn’t look like her exactly but something about her reminds me of Karen Maurer.

  2. dan gillotte
    Posted November 9, 2010 at 12:55 am | Permalink

    Don’t blame me, I voted Draconian. (Thank you, Simpsons…)

  3. Knox
    Posted November 9, 2010 at 6:58 am | Permalink

    She’s even better than the “Vagina Power” woman you posted about a little while ago. God bless the internet for flushing these women to the surface.

  4. Tim
    Posted November 9, 2010 at 9:47 am | Permalink

    I recall quite a few people in the Township claiming on this site that this millage would never pass.

  5. Kim
    Posted November 9, 2010 at 10:55 am | Permalink

    Do I smell an “Annex the Reptilian Hoards” campaign in the works?

  6. Andy C
    Posted November 9, 2010 at 11:17 am | Permalink

    Colleen Thomas might be my new Christine O’Donnell.

  7. John Galt
    Posted November 9, 2010 at 12:15 pm | Permalink

    If we were all armed, we wouldn’t need the police. It’s a fact. Look it up.

  8. Chaely
    Posted November 9, 2010 at 1:29 pm | Permalink

    Silly Colleen, doesn’t she know that the aliens don’t deal with people who own Thomas Kinkade paintings?

  9. Stephen
    Posted November 9, 2010 at 1:37 pm | Permalink

    She’s EXACTLY the Kinkade demographic. I’ve always wondered who bought those things, and now I know. It’s people who believe in reptilian humanoids. Thanks.

  10. RoboDog
    Posted November 9, 2010 at 2:55 pm | Permalink

    Say what you will, the believers in reptilian humanoids do have hard science on their side. If you don’t believe me, check this out.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGVl-vXdBmM

  11. amused1
    Posted November 9, 2010 at 7:10 pm | Permalink

    I love the smell of bat shit crazy in the morning. You know that ammonia smell. It smells like reptilian victory.

  12. Posted November 10, 2010 at 8:51 am | Permalink

    For reference, here’s the precinct-level results for the Ypsi Twp police millage: http://electionresults.ewashtenaw.org/nov2010/canvassreport93.html

    And here’s the Ypsi Twp precinct map: http://ytown.org/government/township-departments/maps-1/large-maps/precinct-map-large.png/view

    Without doing much analysis, it looks like it passed in nearly every precinct, though the largest margins (around 2:1) are in the precincts west of the city, along washtenaw and packard.

  13. Posted November 11, 2010 at 11:16 am | Permalink

    I accidentally started watching this video and listening to my friend’s new noise project at the same time (http://bit.ly/9namA7). It definitely heightens the experience.

  14. Edward
    Posted November 12, 2010 at 9:18 am | Permalink

    Why have none of out township regulars chimed in on this?

  15. Mr. X
    Posted April 7, 2011 at 12:41 pm | Permalink

    I was listening to Glenn Beck’s radio show this afternoon and he was joking about Obama’s birth certificate having a baby lizard’s footprint on it. It was weird, and I immediately thought of this thread.

  16. Anonymous
    Posted October 1, 2020 at 5:45 am | Permalink

    Who are the reptilians running for local office, and who are the candidates that are fighting to protect us from them?

One Trackback

  1. By Policing by video in Ypsilanti Township on April 7, 2011 at 6:51 am

    […] way of background, here are the relative police staffing numbers between our two communities as of a few months ago. …The City of Ypsilanti currently […]

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