FBI Statistics:With Dayne Walling's new layoffs, the city will be left with
approximately 1 officer per thousand residents while the
national average is 3 per thousand.
Mayor Walling
Announces 10 More Police Officer Cuts in the city of Flint,
but later denies it
Flint Mayor Dayne
Walling told MSNBC that 10 more Flint Police Cuts are coming,
after he's already cut indefinitely 40 Flint Police Officers.
The city of Flint was just recently listed in the
Top 5 cities in the nation as having the Highest Crime
Rates. In addition, some of the latest events in the
city of Flint include the Flint Serial Killer, a Flint Police
Officer being Cut by a suspect, and a Uniformed Flint Security
Officer shot and killed while working in Flint. However,
when Mayor Dayne Walling was later asked locally (by TV5 News)
about the 10 cuts, Mayor Dayne Walling denied making the
statement. Hmmm? Now why would that be?
Could it be Mayor Dayne Walling is waiting until after the
Recall Vote passes (assuming he doesn't get recalled).
That would certainly be a better time to lay off the police
officers wouldn't it?
Uniformed
Security Officer Killed while working Flint, Michigan
A Flint
Security Officer working his patrol shift at a Flint
apartment complex was fatally shot Saturday. Flint
police said LaGarda Security Officer John Andrew Mick was
found dead just before 4 a.m. at the River Village
Apartments on Brookhollow Court.
Flint police said officers were looking for two male
gunmen.
Read More
Flint
Police Officer allegedly Cut by Suspect
FLINT, Michigan — A Flint man
who was shot several times after allegedly attacking a
Flint police officer will face criminal charges.
The suspect, 44, was in good condition at a local hospital
Wednesday and has not been arraigned.
Flint police opened fire on the man about 10:20 a.m.
Tuesday after they were called to the man’s home on Ronnie
Lane off York Avenue for a domestic violence call
involving his live-in girlfriend.
More
Meanwhile, Mayor Dayne Walling is "hoping" to combat all
the crime through volunteers of the Blue Badge Volunteer
Corps program. If you would like to "volunteer" your
time (of course, you cannot carry a weapon, nor wear a
bullet proof vest, or receive any official police
training, etc.), the
City of Flint wants You!
Flint
Mayor Dayne Walling Refuses to Hire Back Police, and now
Flint faces Serial Killer gaining National
Attention
Mayor Dayne
Walling made the decision to lay off over 40 officers from
the Flint Police, nearly 1/3 of the department. This
was even after previous lay offs that already crippled the
force. This left the city with less then 1 officer
per 1000 residents while the rest of the nation enjoys an
average of 3 officers per 1000 residents (Detroit
Michigan, which parallels Flint's crime stats, enjoys 4
officers per 1000 residents). Also considering that
Flint is listed in the Top 5 most dangerous cities in the
nation (according to FBI stats), one can easily see how
Flint is fast becoming a criminal's dream thanks to Mayor
Walling.
Crime has skyrocketed since Walling's cuts,
and B & E's in particular have risen to unprecedented
levels. And with so many grants paying for the
existing officers, people are questioning why the city
cannot afford to hire back some of the laid off officers.
The Flint Police Officer's Association has already offered
concessions, offered several ways for the city to make
money (i.e. bringing back the Flint Impound Lot), and even
signed a tentative agreement to pay cuts by the city, only
to find the offer pulled and revised with even higher
cuts, and no promises to bring back the laid off officers.
When will Dayne Walling wake up and realize that Flint
City Residents deserve safety?
Read More
Flint City Residents Must
Pay The Price of High Crime due to Police Layoffs while
Mayor Walling Continues to Add to his Administration, and
Does Nothing to Bring Back Police
The truth
is Flint Mayor Dayne Walling continues to take care of
his people by creating and hiring more administrative
jobs while continuing to slash Public Safety.
In a recent attempt by City Council to slash 4 of Mayor Walling's appointees to
save the city money,
Mayor Dayne Walling "found" funds to save them,
using Public Safety Grants, which could have went to
law enforcement. This is all in addition to
closing the Flint Impound Lot that generated
approximately 1 million dollars a year, and giving it
to his friends at Complete Towing.
For The Record:
Keeping Dayne Walling's Rehearsed Answers Straight
Mayor Dayne
Walling's
only defense to the public as to why he won't bring back Flint
Police Officers to make the city safe is "They won't take
concessions." What Mayor Dayne Walling doesn't tell the
public is that the Flint Police already agreed to cuts,
even signing a tentative agreement that he himself proposed.
Once the Flint Police agreed to these cuts, Mayor Dayne
Walling
pulled the offer off of the table and increasedthe
cuts even further, upward of 45% cuts.
FACT: Police To
Citizens Ratio Comparison Chart
National Average
Detroit Police
Flint Police
3
to 1000
4
to 1000
.8
to 1000
(under 1)
In
addition, Mayor Dayne Walling was asked by us "If we agree to
these cuts, will you bring back the laid off officers?"
His answer was "We will never agree to that."
This means even if we agree to his ridiculous terms, we have
no assurance that he will call back the officers.
At this
moment, the Flint Police are still offering tremendous cuts;
however, Mayor Dayne Walling doesn't want to hear it. It's
either his way or the highway. We believe Mayor Dayne
Walling
never had any intentions of bargaining with us in good faith.
This was a publicity stunt from the very beginning to make us
look selfish and greedy so he could "sell" his police cuts.
This is a way to take care of his friends, i.e. the downtown
development, Complete Towing, creating positions for people
who helped him get elected, etc.
But it's
very important to understand something else: When Mayor
Dayne Walling laid off these police officers, he saved a lot of
money. In other words, he met his goal "and then some."
So technically speaking from a numbers perspective, the
existing Flint Police Officers would be more then justified
asking for a raise in arbitration, because he's saved millions
by cutting so many officers. Yet, we are still
willing to take cuts!
Mayor Dayne
Walling
still gets a FREE pass to "Take care of his friends" with
Complete Towing
Let's not
forget, while Walling preaches about how we won't take pay
cuts, he closed down the Flint Impound Lot that
generated almost $1 million a year, and gave the
responsibilities to Complete Towing which now costs the
City of Flint money! His answer to this is "There
are hidden costs." He makes these types of decisions
to take care of his friends, but asks the Flint Police
Officers to pay for it with their jobs.
Mayor Dayne
Walling
says "We don't need more Police," but then turns right around
and asks for help from the State Police, in addition to
over-pushing existing Flint Police Officers with over time
Mayor Dayne
Walling completely talks out of the side of his mouth, saying
whatever's necessary for the current events at hand.
Although we are extremely appreciative that the State Police
are helping us out this weekend, it is a temporary fix.
The second they are pulled from the city, is the second
everything goes right back to normal simply because there are
not enough officers to deal with the amount of crime Flint has
to deal with. Mayor Dayne Walling likely believes if he hits
the city hard with State Troopers that criminals will "think
twice" about committing crimes in the future. This is
simply not the case. Things will go right back to where
they were before when they're removed. It's no different
then a boat sinking that has 20 holes in it. If you
bring in 10 more people to help the existing 4, you still have
6 holes leaking. But once those 10 are pulled, you're
right back at square one with 16 holes sinking the ship.
Detroit Police
averages 4 officers to every 1000 residents:
Flint Police averages .8 officers to every 1000 residents,
yet BOTH have identical crime stats
Mayor Dayne
Walling has cut Flint Police Officers so low that we are
below the national average of 3 officers to every 1000
residents. Detroit Police, which is very comparable to
Flint, averages 4 officers to every 1000 residents.
Flint Police Officers don't even equate to 1 per 1000
(at .8), yet has the same amount of crime as Detroit.
And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, Dayne
Walling is proposing more police cuts for fiscal year
2010-2011.
State Sen. John Gleason to Granholm: Violence in Flint is on
the brink of "spiraling out of control"
FLINT -- State Sen. John Gleason is asking Gov. Jennifer
Granholm to help tackle violent crime in Flint, saying she
should use "any and all authority that you have to help end
this problem."
In a letter to Granholm today, Gleason said the city "is on
the brink of this violence spiraling out of control" and asked
for a meeting between Flint and state officials "to begin
addressing this matter."
Hours
after Flint's mayor called for a "Cease Fire" in the city, 5
people were shot in at least 3 separate incidents
FLINT (WJRT) -- (05/25/10) -- Hours after Flint's mayor called
for a cease fire in the city, five people were shot in at
least three separate incidents.
One man is dead, one person in critical condition and a third
is reported in serious but stable condition.
The first shooting occurred around 10:40 near Jackson and
Bonbright. Antonio Roche, 19, was killed, 21-year-old Adrian
Clayborne is listed in critical condition and Tiovonni Hodo,
17, is listed in fair condition.
The second happened about 10 minutes later in the 1400 block
of Bell.
9homicides
and more than 100 assaults in Flint in just the past month:
Dayne Walling disagrees that the increase in crime is due to
police cuts
Watch Video
Flint Leaders Call For A "Ceasefire" - Flint police are
teaming up with local churches in hopes of stemming a surge in
violence.
There have been nine homicides and more than 100 assaults in
Flint in just the past month. Mayor Dayne Walling is calling
for a 'Ceasefire' in Flint's city streets.
"Put down the guns, and the
drugs and the violence," says Walling, "Individuals need
to make a choice...and we'll be working to provide those
individuals with support services to help them change
their lives."
Mayor Dayne Walling disagrees with the suggestion that the surge
in violence in Flint is connected with cuts in the city's
police department.
Flint public safety chief Alvern Lock says police officers
need the public's help to curb the rising tide of violence
in the city.
"Some one knows all the
things that happen in their neighborhood. Provide us that information," says Lock,
"That's how we successfully make our city safe."
Lock says police officers and crime watch volunteers will soon
start receiving special training to help identify violent
crime suspects.
Flint church groups are also getting involved by reaching out
to boys and young men, who are often involved in violent
crime, gangs and drugs.
Dayne, good luck with that strategy.
We're sure these career criminals will consider your advice,
just as certain as we are this "special training" coming up
will help seasoned officers identify violent crime suspects.
Most of us 15 year + rookies have been trying to find that
secret for years now.
Please take a look at what's happening in Detroit. Their
crime rate is increasing quickly and their Mayor simply
"doesn't have the answers." Their officers to
citizens outnumber Flint officers by almost 4 to 1, yet
Flint has the same crime rate as Detroit. With all
politics aside, you are putting the citizens of the City of
Flint and the Police Officers who work here in
extreme imminent danger.
It is only a matter of time before someone at the Flint
Police Department gets seriously injured or killed, which will
be a direct result of your decisions.
We understand you have never worked as a police officer and
have no past military experience whatsoever. So for this
reason alone, let us at least entertain you with what a Flint
Police Officer sees every day, especially now:
First, there are thugs out there that carry guns daily, and
don't like the police. They can't find a job and all
they know is to get something they want, they have to "take
it." These thugs are uneducated for the most part, have
never been loved their entire lives and therefore feel
absolutely no remorse taking someone's life, or their
property. In fact, many feel that other people "owe
them." These thugs are the ones that we see laughing and
joking about who they killed and how they killed them.
These thugs are now starring down the police, especially
while in groups, as we drive down the road. They're
"sizing us up." We know from experience and
the look in their eyes that these thugs mean business.
As a result, many officers are now forced to change the way
they do their jobs due to extreme safety concerns. They
know they have no backup, so if they get into something they
can't get out of themselves, they simply don't do it.
This is absolutely terrible for the city. Although
officers may not admit it, many are simply turning a blind eye
to suspicious things they see simply because they know it's
too dangerous as there are not enough police in the city.
This atmosphere will have devastating results down the road
for the city, not only because it breeds crime, gangs, etc.,
people and businesses will continue to move out, and new
businesses
won't come. In addition,
you as the mayor will be forced to offer
Mayor admits foot patrols off to a
rough start
"We
tried to tell Walling these wouldn't work.
When you
have single digit officers hitting the streets and
double digit calls coming in, you can't walk beats,
especially alone. In addition, these are not new
positions; the existing officers are simply assigned
to Foot Patrol"
FLINT (WJRT) --
(05/20/10) -- Foot patrols were pitched as a way to
save Flint police jobs, a way to put officers back on
the street to build relationships with residents in
every ward in the city.
More than two months later, even Mayor Dayne Walling
admits the department's foot patrol program is
struggling to get off the ground.
more "free tax incentives" just
to get businesses to come which doesn't help the city.
This Disneyland illusion of safety that you try to create
through media will come to an end by the majority at some
point.
Because you have cut police so deep, we are now "reactive"
instead of "pro-active." This means that we are simply
"taking a report" as opposed being able to catch the bad guy.
For instance, officers who responded to an armed robbery at a
popular convenience store a couple of weeks ago were "pulled"
from the call before they could check the area for the
suspect, even after they had an idea of where the suspect was.
They were pulled for a fight call that Burton Police had to
respond to in our city, and were merely holding for us.
We hope that you'll try to understand that police work is not
just about taking the reports, it's about catching the bad
guy, letting the bad guy know that we're coming for him if he
commits a crime.
Mayor Dayne Walling if you have any decency at all, please try to
find a way to increase police levels. Stop lying to the
public about programs like "Foot Patrol" and "Technology" in
new cruisers that you say will reduce crime. These are
smoke and mirrors and are simply not true. And stop
blaming 911; there's simply not enough officers for the call
volume that's coming into the city. Listen to your
Chief. He knows what you really need, and what he needs
is for you to let him do his job. We understand the
financial situation and are more then willing to work with
you, but it's obvious through negotiations that you already
had your agenda set and wanted to make us out to be the bad
guys to the public to "sell" your police cuts. What you
may not realize though is the public doesn't care about the
picture you're trying to paint, they just want to be safe
regardless, and you've taken that away.
Flint City 911 is now general
broadcasting Priority 1 Calls like "Man with a Gun,"
"Large Fights," "Serious Car Accidents," etc. with no Police
to send immediately.
Don't believe us? Listen to
Flint's Police Scanners Live yourself. Don't have
one, no problem. Use the link below to listen live, and
click on the "play" button all the way to the left under
"Flint Police F2 Dispatch"
Here is the link:
http://www.flintmi.us/ After going to the link, you
will see Flint Police logos (as shown below). Use the
play button all the way to the left, as illustrated below.
What exactly does General Broadcasting mean?
General Broadcasting means they don't have anyone to send, and
they are merely putting the call over the air for the tied up
officers to hear. They do this because it's literally
all they can do at the time, and it's better then doing
nothing at all. However, it doesn't change a thing.
What Mayor Dayne Walling Doesn't Get: Basic Supply and Demand
The calls keep coming in at
Flint 911, and there are only so many officers
available to take them. It's literally a supply
and demand issue. Right now there is more supply
(the 911 calls coming in) then there is demand (the
officers available to handle the supply). Another
way of looking at it is like this: As a police
officer is handling 1 call, there are 2 more calls coming
in. Remember, the national average for police to
citizens is 3 officers to 1000 residents.Flint is now approximately .8 (<<
less then 1) officer to every 1000 residents,
with
more proposed cuts by Walling coming July 1st,
2010. To the right is a video showcasing a perfect
example of what Mayor Dayne Walling is doing with the Flint
Police Department. In this video, Lucy and her
friend are the police, and the candy are the 911 calls
coming in.
Mayor Dayne Walling
Recommends Retired firefighter John Linker as Flint's new fire
chief for $90,166 (Even though the position is already
covered by Chief Lock, AND there are more proposed
police cuts for the new budget)
May 03, 2010, 8:00PM
FLINT, Michigan — Mayor Dayne Walling is recommending John
Linker, a retired assistant fire chief, be appointed the
city’s new fire chief.
Linker, of Mt. Morris Township, had 25 years of experience
with the Flint Fire Department and rose through the ranks
before he retired in 2002 as assistant chief.
The Flint City Council is scheduled to consider Linker’s
appointment at its committee meeting Wednesday.
The job opening was posted, and Linker was chosen among a
dozen applicants, Walling said.
“He’s one of the fire department’s hardest working
firefighters ever,” he said.
Linker has at least two medals of merit under his belt. In
1991, he was awarded a certificate of appreciation for helping
develop better community relations at “a depressed
neighborhood fire station,” according to his resume.
Linker was unable to be reached for comment Monday.
Full Story
Hot off the press!
4 Shootings and 1 Stabbing occurred for 3rd shift officers on
May 4th, 2010 in the city of Flint (Not getting much safer
Walling)
Just another 10 fewer officers
included in next year's Flint police budget by Mayor Dayne
Walling
1 Police Officer Killed, 4 Officers Wounded
In Shooting
Let's pray the following scenario doesn't happen in Flint
since Mayor Dayne Walling has cut Flint Police Officers to around
1/4 of what Detroit staffs their police officer levels at:
May 3rd, 2010: DETROIT - A Detroit police officer has been
shot and killed and four others wounded at an abandoned house
in the 20,000 block of Schoenherr Road near 8 Mile Road in
Detroit. The shooting happened on the city's east side
at about 4 a.m.
Full Story
Flint Mayor Dayne Walling (one of the Highest Paid Mayors in
the Nation) Lays Off 1/3 of Police and 1/4 of FireFighters
in the City of Flint that is listed in the Top 5 Most Dangerous
Cities in the Nation according to the FBI
As you know, we have been
trying to work with Mayor Dayne Walling on his massive
public safety cuts (that begin March 25th). In fact, one
of the police unions literally signed an offer that was
proposed by the city, and we thought this was a "done deal."
But the city then turned around and pulled their own offer
back off the table after we signed it. We believe this
is because Walling didn't expect us to take the "cuts" and
when we did, it surprised the city. So they pulled it
and increased their demands, demands we cannot meet.
It is our belief that Mayor Dayne
Walling's goal from the very beginning was to cut public
safety. He is a politician and knew he could use the
media to make us out to be the "bad guys" by painting a
picture that we were being "greedy" and "selfish." He
did this to try and gain public support for cutting safety.
However, what Walling doesn't tell you is we are already
underpaid, understaffed and work one of the highest crime
cities in the nation. In fact, the national average for
police officers to residents is
3
to every 1000 residents. Flint, still in the top 5
most dangerous cities according to the FBI, will now be around
1 officer to every 1000 residents. To expect us take
massive cuts in pay is ridiculous; we might as well go work at
at McDonalds and go home safe every night.
We have questioned Dayne
Walling's decisions and offered solutions to save and make
money, but he refuses to do it:
1.
Why did you close Don
Williamson's "money maker" Flint Impound Lot? Why did
you give it to Complete Towing? This is a $1 million
dollar turn around profit for the city that can be re-opened
at any time. This alone can save more then half of the
cuts to public safety based on your math.
2. Why do you insist on
paying us double time and a half for holidays? We've
offered to give it back to save the city another $250,000 a
year. More officers saved from this.
3. We agreed to do 12 hour
shifts that we expect will save the city at least $500,000 a
year. Why won't you take this into consideration when
making these cuts?
4. Why did you reject the
offer we agreed to, when you were the one that offered it?
5. Why are you still adding
administrative positions to your staff, while cutting public
safety for the citizens?
6. Why did you only take a
5% cut to your $106,000 a year paycheck while you ask the city
to take 15% cuts? You demand these cuts even while you
lay them off as well.
The bottom line is Dayne Walling
is putting the city in great danger, whether he realizes it or
not. We are the experts in law enforcement, not Dayne.
We have tried to educate the public and Dayne Walling on how
serious things could get. We've been accused of trying
to put people in fear for our own agenda, but this is simply
not true. People may forget, police and fire have been
cut by every administration over the last 15 years. The
problem is, crime hasn't gone down. This is why citizens
are always mad about response times; there's simply not enough
police now. We are stretched at the absolute bare bones.
These coming cuts are the nail in the coffin. The safety
people have had in the past is a result of the officers that
currently exist.
We are now encouraging citizens
to take steps to protect themselves in the City of Flint.
For example, buying alarms systems, learning defense tactics,
installing motion lights, putting neighborhood crime watch
teams together, etc. The Flint Police and Flint Fire
will make every possible effort to get to you when you call,
but chances are, we will be on another call, arrest, crime
scene, etc.
Flint Fire forced to Call for Mutal Aid Saturday -
Firefighters had to wait to get hydrants in the area to
work, then mutual aid was called in. Aerial crews from
Clio and Davison went to the scene.
Mayor Dayne Walling is laying off 80 Police
and Fire, which is almost 1/3 of Public Safety. The
national average for police to residents is 3 officers to
every 1000 residents. With Dayne Walling's new cuts, Flint
will be 1 officer per 1000 residents. What's more scary
is Flint is still in the FBI's Top 5 for most violent cities
in the nation. Below is a small sample of 911 calls that
occurred when we had even more officers then we do today:
Jobs
Announcement!!!
Mayor Dayne Walling is hiring
administrative positions!
FBI Statistics:With Dayne Walling's new layoffs, the city will be left
with approximately 1 officer per thousand residents while
the
national average is 3 per thousand.
FPOA Union President Keith Speer lays down some
facts about the the city's cuts, and questions why city
leaders closed the Flint Impound Lot that made $1 million per
year, yet cutting police and fire to make up the difference
Flint Police Officer's Association Union President Keith
Speer briefly talks about three main points:
▪
Concessions - Mayor Dayne Walling tells the
public he wants 15% pay cuts from police and fire, yet
the actual amount is around 45%. Dayne Walling
took a 5% pay cut but makes almost twice as much as a
Flint Police Officer. Feb. 22nd, he added another
member to his staff at $80,000 per year.
▪
Flint Impound Lot - Mayor Dayne Walling closed
our profitable Impound Lot and gave the contract to
Complete Towing, which now costs the city about $1
million per year. This contract is even reversible
with a 30 day notice.
▪
Safety - Flint Police and Firefighters are severely
under staffed. With Dayne Walling's new cuts, it is
practically impossible to provide even adequate service.
This is a danger to not only the public but the officers
and firefighters who do this job. Flint Police
have gone from around 350 officers to 120.
Without adequate staffing levels, the Police Officers and Fire
Fighters of the City of Flint cannot do their jobs in an
adequate manner, period. Mayor Dayne Walling has sent
out pink slips to approximately 1/3 of the police and 1/4 of
the fire department. Both were already at extremely
dangerous levels from previous administration cuts.
The
message we want Dayne Walling to understand is that Public
Safety is the most important aspect of any community,
especially the City of Flint. Not putting Public Safety
first jeopardizes the safety of our citizens,
drives out businesses and forces people to move out, further
depleting tax revenues for the city to prosper.
Dayne Walling
is cutting Public Safety in one of the Most Dangerous Cities
in the Nation
The City of Flint is rated by the FBI as one of the most
dangerous cities in the entire nation, not just the state!
Dayne Walling ran part of his campaign on the importance of Public
Safety, yet now he's cutting Police and Fire to extraordinary
levels, risking not only the safety of our citizens, but the
officers and firefighters who deal with dangerous situations
every day.
Currently 58 officers' salaries and benefits are being paid
for by various Federal and Local Grants, not the
city: These officers cost the general fund zero
● 25 Police Millage officers ● 8 Federal Stimulus grant
officers ● 6 Prosecutor grant (Southend
Posse) officers ● 10 Mott COPS grant
officers ● 2 Kettering officers ● 1 Hurley officer ● 6 School Liaison officers
Total: 58 Police Officers not
being paid by the City of Flint. The city is
still hiring new employees while Police and Fire are the only
department that have been cut. Police offered large
concessions that were agreed to. The city then changed
their mind and demanded 3x more concessions.
The City says they want officer's pay (with benefits)
'down' to $85,000 per officer; however, it's only at $76,000
Mayor Dayne Walling has repeatedly stated he wants police pay
(with benefits) down to $85,000 per officer. However,
police officer's average are already below those figures at
$76,000. In addition, Dayne Walling says they need to
save around $1.3 million, and says these 50 officers will do
it. But let's do the math: 50 x $85,000 = 4.25 million.
If Dayne Walling needed to save what he said (1.3 million), then why
is he laying off so many? To save that, he would only
need to cut around 15 officers.
Dayne Walling is telling the media that Public Safety is
unwilling to budge on contracts
This is simply not true. The Flint Police Officer's
Association and the Flint Fire's Union have made several
suggestions to Dayne Walling on how to save money, and even how to
make money, yet all of these ideas and guaranteed ways of
saving money have been ignored.
Dayne
Walling is telling the media that he wants 15% cuts to
police and fire; however, the Union's calculations of
Dayne Walling's demands are actually totaling between 40% and 50% in actual pay cuts!
This is completely unreasonable and unfair, especially when
proven ways to save and make money are simply ignored.
Also take into consideration that the Flint Police Department
are some of the lowest paid in the state. For instance,
a Genesee Township Officer (lowest ranking level) is paid more
then a Sergeant at the Flint Police Department, yet Flint's
crime and risk to the officers are significantly higher.
In addition, in the last 15 years alone, Flint Police Officers
received one raise, which still put them "under paid" based on
other comparable departments. It's also interesting that
Dayne Walling says he wants 15% cuts from police and fire (which is
actually much higher), while at the same time he is only
taking a 5% pay cut to himself, and makes almost
twice as much as police and firefighters.
Dayne Walling closed the Flint Impound Lot (that profited approx.
$500,000 per year), and gave the contract to Complete Towing
which now costs the city $500,000
One huge argument the police have against Dayne Walling is that he
closed the Flint Impound Lot (that Don Williamson opened), and
gave the contract to Complete Towing. The impound lot
was profiting the city at least $500,000 a year which could be
used of course for officers (the very people who impound the
vehicles in the first place). However, the police are
now being asked to take major cuts, and being laid off while
decisions like these are being made. What makes this
even more insane is that Dayne Walling can reverse his
decision at any time by simply giving Complete Towing a 30 day
notice, per the contract. However, he refuses to
do so and tells the unions there are "hidden costs" behind his
decision, which is absolutely absurd. You have to wonder
why he would do this. And to make matters even worse,
the City of Flint is now paying Complete Towing to store the
vehicles at their lots, which now costs the city around
$500,000 a year or more! This is happening while our own
Impound Lot sits empty and officers are losing jobs.
The Number that Dayne Walling is cutting is Mind Boggling
When
Woodrow Stanley was mayor and made his cuts, the
departments could still function because they were still
relatively large. But when Don Williamson made his cuts
more recently, it was a big deal as manpower was severely
slashed. Many said the Police and Fire Departments were
on "life support" after Williamson's cuts. That brought
the Police Department down to approximately 170 sworn
officers. However, now that Dayne Walling is cutting almost 1/3 of
police alone, some believe it will be nearly impossible to
function as a department. Call volume will once again go
up meaning longer response times and more risk to citizens.
It's important that the public understands that even if 110
to 120
officers "sounds" like a lot of officers, it's really not
For instance, when a road officer takes a complaint from a
citizen, that complaint is sent to a Detective (sergeant) who
then has to follow up on it. This could mean interviews
with suspects and victims, tracking down suspects, requesting
warrants from the courts, following up in court with
prosecutors, building cases, etc. This task alone
requires a significant amount of time from current
officers/supervisors. Most important to understand from
this example is that these officers/supervisors are not on the
road as the public may believe, thus lessening the number of
officers on the streets that respond to 911 calls. In
addition, when you look at the totality of tasks required "behind the scenes," i.e.
Accident Investigation, Juvenile Bureau, Liaison, Detective
Bureau, Special Operations, Internal Affairs, etc., it's clear
the number of officers actually answering our 911 calls goes down
significantly. And this doesn't even take into account
that officers still get days off, have sick days and vacation
days, which also plays a large role in manpower. The point is,
these numbers are from the top down (starting with the Chief),
and therefore do not represent, even nearly, the number of
officers on the "street."
Crime is NOT going down
With such high levels of unemployment, home foreclosures,
etc., crime is not going to go down, it's going to go UP as a
result of the economy. We encourage and pray that
Dayne Walling take a closer look at the safety risks he's imposing
on our citizens, and the risks to the officers and
firefighters who are trying to keep them safe.
We need your help to
TellWallingNO!
There are a variety of ways that you can help the
cause: send us your story, send us a video YouTube link of
your story, etc. Or simply contact Mayor Dayne Walling
and/or City Council Members directly and voice your opinion.
Let Dayne Walling know our safety should come first! See our
Help page for more ways to help!
Mayor Walling
Announces 10 More Police Officer Cuts in the city of Flint,
but later denies it
Flint
Police Officer allegedly Cut by Suspect
For The Record:
Keeping Dayne Walling's Rehearsed Answers Straight
"We
tried to tell Walling these wouldn't work.
May 03, 2010, 8:00PM
Dayne Walling
is cutting Public Safety in one of the Most Dangerous Cities
in the Nation