By Craig Sudeikis
Western Herald
The Kalamazoo City Commission during a meeting earlier this year.
Kalamazoo Dept. of Public Safety Chief Jeffery Hadley spoke of the possible restructuring of the department at the Kalamazoo City Commission meeting on Oct. 6, proposing two new positions be created in late 2008 and 2009.
The two new positions would restructure the agency similar to the way it was set up in 2003. Top positions would be chief, deputy chief, assistant chief and assistant chief of professional standards. Specifically, the two new positions would be the assistant chief of professional standards and a sergeant in the community policing division.
Allocation of funding was the concern for commissioners and Hadley offered two specific remedies for budget problems.
“We are going to eliminate a financial analyst position at KVET (Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team),” Hadley said, “and also merge the service division secretary and operations division secretary as a way to help fund those [positions].”
Funding for the community sergeant would come from the 2008 budget and the funding for the additional assistant chief would come from the 2009 budget.
Kalamazoo Public Safety also has established a financial services division to oversee all purchasing throughout the department.
In other business, City Clerk Scott Borling addressed the projected high turnout at the polls in November and what is being done to streamline that process.
Borling said the months of September and October, 2004 yielded 1,700 voter registrations mailed to the city clerk’s office compared to 6000 in 2008, with most of October yet to come.
To help with long lines, as well as people getting in the wrong line where stations have multiple precincts, Borling said there will be two greeters at entrances directing people to the right lines and answering any questions.
Finding the right precinct in which to vote has been a challenge for voters in the past.
“Our strategies for getting people to the right precinct includes the use of a call center here at city hall,” said Borling.
The call center will be open the same hours as the polls. Also, increasing “signage” all over the county to help direct voters to the correct precinct.
