To the editor:
I am writing to correct the misinformation in the April 17 edition of the paper that mischaracterizes the April 14 meeting of the Allegan City Council. If you just read the headline, you’d be left with an entirely wrong idea of what happened during the meeting.
As with so many other Michigan municipalities, the City of Allegan is facing budget challenges. We are facing rising costs for everything, from paving roads and managing our water system to paying for employee benefits and maintaining our parks. We’re also watching as federal grants that benefit our City continue to face the chopping block.
As a City, we have a backlog of infrastructure projects we need to tackle over the next decade. These include:
- Resurfacing or reconstructing 20% of roads and streets to maintain safe driving conditions for residents and visitors.
- Replacing 800 lead water service lines, which is being mandated by the EPA and the state.
- Investing in our water treatment facilities to ensure we can deliver safe, clean and PFAS-free drinking water to residents.
- Replacing the condemned Trestle Trail Bridge, which will cost approximately $1 million.
- Making improvements to Rossman Park, which will cost approximately $300,000.
- Managing annual maintenance programs to keep the City-owned Regent Theatre and Griswold Auditorium operating smoothly and safely.
- Handling annual maintenance and periodic upgrades for our 10 city owned parks.
As I shared with Council during Monday’s meeting, the total cost for these projects for the next 10 years in our streets funds is approximately $14.2 million. This simply isn’t available in our current budget.
City Council has asked us to come up with a plan to pay for these infrastructure projects, which we will need to sell bonds in order to complete. We estimate we need an average of $500,000 each year for the next 5 years to finance the initial projects. In years 6-10, it is anticipated we will need an additional $500,000 annually for a total of $1 million annually to finance all projects. This would cover the costs of paying back the bonds.
As a City, we’ve taken a hard look at the budget to see where we might be able to cut costs. We’ve considered a number of options, including:
- Trimming expenses across the board: Our current budget is already bare bones, and we don’t have enough to realize the cost savings needed. We are continuing to be mindful of expenses. I’ve told Council I won’t take a pay increase for the upcoming year.
- Asking residents for an additional millage: The City of Allegan is already one of the highest taxed municipalities in the county, and we don’t think residents will approve adding to the current 16.368 millage rate we currently assess.
- Borrowing from the water and sewer funds: While it looks like there might be a surplus in this fund, under Michigan law, we can’t borrow from this fund to support police or other general government services.
- Contracting with Allegan County for our police services: This approach would allow us to save money while maintaining the high level of public safety our residents have come to know and expect.
While we’re continuing to look to reduce our overall expenses, City Council has already been presented with the possibility of contracting with the county for police services. We recognize the vital role of public safety in our community and would never, ever recommend eliminating police, fire or ambulance services. We do need to look at doing things differently, as we have done with our fire services. This proposal, which is currently being considered by City Council, is a different way of paying for public safety.
The City of Allegan has had preliminary discussions with Allegan County to see what an arrangement would look like and it is my intent that each officer and support staff be given the opportunity to land at the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department. We recognize some people will worry about a decline in service if we make this change. Rest assured, the City will have protections in place, similar to what we do with our fire services. These will spell out our expectations of service levels in terms of response times, patrols on the road and assistance with code enforcement.
West Michigan municipalities such as Hudsonville, Spring Lake, Coopersville, Georgetown Township, Fennville and Saugatuck have begun contracting for public safety services with Ottawa and Allegan counties with success. Managers in these communities have told me residents and businesses are seeing similar road patrols and response times after the switch, which has saved each municipality hundreds of thousands of dollars.
For the City of Allegan, we anticipate it would be nearly $750,000 in savings in the first year of the switch and then an ongoing savings of $500,000 a year thereafter. We’ve had nearly a decade of success with our fire services being contracted to the Allegan Fire District, and we anticipate contracting with Allegan County for policing services will allow us to continue providing this vital service while saving costs.
We recognize this is not simply a math equation. It’s not just what color uniform an officer will put on in the morning. We know this will have a major impact on each member of the department – and our entire community. For me personally, it’s been a real struggle. Our Police Department is the most professional team I’ve worked with in my 25 years in local government and 8 years as the City Manager for the City of Allegan. They are all top-notch individuals and function extremely well together as a team. All are local graduates and most have decades of service with us. All are known and respected in our community.
This plan would allow them to continue to serve our community, ensuring we can maintain a high level of trust and quality service with officers safeguarding the City. It would also allow us to realize significant costs savings and reinvest those dollars in our community to tackle much-needed infrastructure projects.
We are currently in the exploratory stages of this discussion with City Council, who will make the final decision. Of course, we are open to other paths. Nothing is off the table at this point – and nothing is a done deal.
In the coming weeks, we’re planning to listen to our community to hear directly from you. If the community is adamant about retaining our police department, we could look at the possibility of a voter-approved millage. The intent was to bring this conversation to the forefront once we had more information to share.
The City has established a section on our website to provide timely, accurate information to our community. We commit to being transparent during this process. We look forward to hearing the thoughts of residents and business owners and to having robust conversations about the best path forward.
Joel Dye
Allegan City Manager
The police didn’t fail us why should they go. The manager is the one not managing well, he is the one that may need to go
I agree with what all have spoken! Another cut could be the hotel! Put those funds to our Reliable City Police! And to add to the other comments – our Schools need them too!
Cutting the police force will only increase the amount of response time needed to get to a scene of an incident. Since the City manager makes more money than usual City managers we should start cutting his salary as well as cutting staff in City Hall. If Allegan ever has a major emergency. We will not have the amount of police staff, even if the county kicks in the cover an incident. All you need is two or three things to happen at once and the city will be at peril.
Would you want your teenage daughter who is undergoing an attack to have to wait till the cops show up because there is no more city police force or would you rather see cuts in staff and other places to keep on to provide the excellent service That our police provide.
Maybe this will be the situation that will get a citizens in this city aroused enough to get involved in what is happening to our city. Let’s have our voice heard at city Council. Keep the Allegan City police force so that our families and property may be protected with the excellent service they give.
I am writing to express my strong opposition to the proposal of disbanding our dedicated Allegan City Police Department in favor of contracting services through the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department.
While I understand and acknowledge the financial challenges our city faces—rising costs, infrastructure demands, and uncertain funding sources—the solution should not come at the expense of one of the most critical and trusted institutions in our community: our local police force.
The Allegan City Police Department is more than just a public safety service. It is an integral part of our community fabric. These officers are not just employees; they are our neighbors, school alumni, youth coaches, our school resource officers and familiar faces who have built relationships with residents and businesses over years, even decades. They know the city’s neighborhoods, its people, and its unique challenges in a way no external department ever could.
Shifting public safety to the county may offer short-term savings, but it comes with long-term costs we cannot afford—reduced responsiveness, diminished local accountability, and a loss of the deep community trust our local officers have built. Despite contractual promises of service standards, the City will ultimately be one of many clients vying for the county’s attention. We risk becoming just another line item in a much larger jurisdiction, rather than a community with a dedicated team of officers committed solely to our safety and well-being.
This Sheriff’s Department, which does good work across the county are stretched thin. We have a large county and they cannot match the tailored attention, immediate presence, or local knowledge that our own department provides. Public safety should never be compromised for cost-saving convenience.
Instead of eliminating our department, let’s explore alternative solutions: a modest public safety millage, seeking new grants, restructuring non-essential spending, or launching a community-led fundraising effort to protect our police force. If our city leadership truly believes this community values its local officers, then they should give the people a voice—at the ballot box—before making such a permanent and consequential change.
Let’s invest in our community, not outsource its safety. We owe that to the officers who have served us loyally, and to the residents who trust them to do so.
The one benefit of being a city resident is having our OWN City Police service. When you state that nothing has yet been decided – and in the next sentence state that “if the community is adamant about retaining our police department, you could look at the possibility of a voter approved mileage”, that sounds to me
like the decision has already been made. The dynamics of Allegan has changed dramatically over the years and crime has increased. We need our city police and should not have to pay more to keep their services. I would much rather have a safe city than another poorly maintained park.
I would much rather see a tax hike than lose the city police .
The comparison of the two counties is so obvious that ANYONE should be able to see there shouldn’t be a comparison. Such comparison shows Allegan County is understaffed for the size of the county when you use Ottawa County as the control county.
I can’t believe this is even a thought or consideration. These officers—and my husband among them—have poured so much time, heart, and dedication into this community. Almost every one of them grew up here. They’ve walked these streets as kids, attended these schools, and now they serve to protect the same places that shaped them.
They are more than just the uniform they wear. They are a familiar face at the grocery store, a wave to your child at the bus stop, a steady hand during an emergency. They are the curve in the road you always take home, the comfort in knowing someone who truly cares is looking out for you.
So when I read things that question their value, or their right to be here (roads are more important?) —I can’t just scroll past it. I have to speak. Because these men aren’t strangers. They’re ours. And they deserve better than this—they deserve our support.
They’ve shown up—for the local parades, during the hardest times, for the late-night calls no one else wanted to answer, for the school talks, the lost pets, the silent check-ins when something didn’t feel right. Not because they had to, but because they care. Because this town isn’t just a dot on a map to them—it’s their home, too.
And before anyone says, “Well, they can just go to the county or another department and get a new job,”—please understand, it’s not that simple. This isn’t just a job you walk away from like clocking out of a shift. It’s personal. It’s rooted. The relationships these officers hold within this community are deep, unshakable, and unmatched.
You can’t replicate that with a new face in a fresh uniform. You can’t train someone overnight to understand the nuances of this town— like the way these officers know which streets need extra eyes after sunset.
You can’t replace the years of built trust with someone who doesn’t know the names behind the doors they’re sworn to protect. This isn’t just about budget. This is about connection. And connection is what makes a community safe, strong, and whole.
So no—it’s not easy, and it’s not replaceable. These aren’t just officers. These are our people.
Please attend the city council meeting on April 28th – City Hall @ 6pm to show support and speak up for your local PD. If you can’t attend email the city mayor tperrigo@cityofallegan.org
Agree with all of this. Time to show up for these officers, like they have shown up for us. We need to flood the emails of the city council members. They work for the citizens, not Joel Dye.
There will most definitely be a decline in services if the City Police Dept is eliminated.
The council report is not comparing apples to apples here comparing Ottawa and Allegan Counties.
Allegan County
Land Area: 825 square miles
In Acres that is 528,000 acres
In Square Feet: ~23 billion sq ft
Allegan County has a total of approximately 106 deputized officers to cover 825 sq miles!
Ottawa County
Land Area is 563.5 square miles
In Acres that is a total of 360,640 acres
In Square Feet: ~15.7 billion sq ft
Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office employs approximately 141 officers to cover 563.5 sq miles.
How in the world do you think there would not be a decline in services by eliminating the City Police, who also employ the School Resource Officers?
Joel Dye V Overview
Joel Dye V in 2024 was employed at City of Allegan and had an annual salary of $123,451 according to public records. This salary was 257 percent higher than the average and 2,456 percent higher than the median salary in City of Allegan.
City of Allegan records show Joel Dye V held two jobs from 2018 to 2024. From 2019 to 2024 Joel Dye V held job of City Manager.
In year 2024 Joel Dye’s salary was 4 percent higher than average City Manager salary in the state of Michigan.
I believe some city officials need to take pay cuts to help alleviate this deficit problem.