Courtesy Clerk to Staff Grosse Pointe Shores Police Desk Round the Clock

The Grosse Pointe Shores council recently voted to approve a version of the 2013/14 fiscal year budget that includes coverage of the front police desk at the municipal building around the clock. 
The option was presented along with another option that did not include the additional staffing by finance committee chairman Bruce Bisballe. Ultimately, the option involving the clerk was approved 6 to 1 with councilman Dan Schulte being the only dissenting vote. 
Under the plan, the courtesy clerk will be put into place for a one-year trial, at which time residents and council may evaluate the effectiveness of the position.
Grosse Pointe Shores consolidated their emergency dispatch operations with Grosse Pointe Farms in October 2011 as part of a larger plans by all of the Pointes related to cost savings within public safety. Originally officials wanted to have one dispatch for all five cities but a study showed it was not financially feasible or beneficial to any of the cities. 
The result was a recommendation to make smaller consolidations of dispatch departments in preparation for someday ultimately consolidating to one to serve all five cities. 
Shores residents have lodged complaints about it since the consolidation happened. In addressing concerns and complaints, officials discovered there was a technology problem related to the Shores telephone lines. That problem has since been resolved. 
None of the concerns or complaints involved emergency calls. They were related to non-emergency calls--a point emphasized by Councilwoman Kay Felt during the budget presentation recently. 
Felt said ideally they would have been able to bring back full dispatch but it's not financially feasible. She continued explaining that the finance committee thought building in courtesy clerk would help alleviate some of the concerns being expressed by residents. 
The clerk, who will be chosen in a collaborative effort involving the Director of Public Safety John Schulte, and other city officials, will not be a dispatcher but will be able to communicate with officers on the road. 
The clerk will also be able to communicate with Farms dispatchers related to potential emergency situations that find their way into the Shores municipal building. 
In addition to the clerk, the plan calls for the implementation of security cameras on the municipal building along with other locations within the community--all of which would be monitored by the clerk. 
When the consolidation happened with the Farms, the police desk was manned during traditional business hours. An extra person was working in the early evenings to help transition in the beginning to ensure nothing was missed as everyone adjusted to the new format. 
The clerk position will likely have three employees who are not police officers or emergency responders and they will each work part-time. The position calls for about 1 mill tax increase. It does not raise taxes as high as what residents paid in 2012.