Here’s an example of the good things that can come out of those giant gabfests like the annual policy conference on Mackinac Island right after Memorial Day each year… This year on the Island, Detroit News editorial page editor Nolan Finley and a number of folks in the Center for Michigan tribe cooked up the idea of publishing 50 Ideas to Fix Michigan. That special series began this week in the Detroit News. Over the course of the next three months, Finley’s team at the News will publish an idea per day on how to transform our state. This week’s first several installments have focused on various reform approaches, including shifting state police road patrols, providing healthy living incentives for Medicaid recipients, and reforming state labor laws which get in the way of local government service sharing (click here if you think you’ve heard that one before!) To keep up with the series, bookmark this page and watch the right hand column on a daily basis. Copies of HB4151 and HB5235 HB4151 as introduced HB5235 as introduced
Bridge Feed- Ah, so! Second thoughts for Hoekstra’s star?
- Guest post: K-12 ‘increase’ is actually a cut
- More families set to lose welfare assistance
- Reactions to Snyder budget coming in
- Guest post: Speak out on SE Michigan roadways
- Budget translated: Don’t get excited
- Bridge reports, budgets rise
- Detroit neighbor losing population, too
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5 Comments
Shifting Road Patrols to County Sherriff’s from the State Police may be cheaper, but Michiganders will see a decline in quality.
The Michigan State Police maintain the standards and training for Peace Officers in Michigan (MCOLES). There is no way to keep the uniform quality without field feedback.
We can reduce State Police Road patrols, and have a safe state. Traffic enforcement is far overdone in Michigan, allowing the legislature to use traffice fines to balance the budget as was done in 2007.
I say keep the quality of the MSHP on the road, but less of them to save money as we are doing now. Giving money from the State to local units for road patrol is nuts. They will spend it as they please, without oversight.
John Hargenrader
Shifting road patrols from MSP to the Counties will not necessarily save money. Apparently the author as not checked what Washtenaw County CLAIMS their costs are and consequently charge for that service.
Perception will carry the day when considering shifting Michigan road patrols from state police to county sheriff departments.
Both law enforcement agencies are controlled by powerful unions. However, in the main, Michigan residents view state troopers as a far more disciplined and professional law enforcement unit. They’ll sleep better at night knowing troopers are standing watch.
Perhaps this is due to the high visibility and often ‘bloody’ sheriff campaigns for elected office. Or the widely publicized cowboy-hi-jinks of deputies, and sometimes media-seeking sheriffs.
Whatever the reason, a career in the state police still constitutes one of the higher law enforcement callings in Michigan.
Thank you for your kind remarks in P&A and for any efforts you made on my behalf with David Morse.
Your kindness is not lost on a “nutjob”. I am a true and faithful civil libertarian and even more vigilant when our own private real estate property rights are being seized. Thank you again. Mary Ann Lamkin
Kudos to The Center and its counterparts for initiating the “50 Ideas to Fix Michigan” effort. A potential addition to the idea list includes the need to minimize obstacles in the decision making process. One tool for doing so is the identification of a purely factual, completely objective measure of impact. One such measure is the impact of a proposed initiative or action (e.g. Aerotropolis legislation, departmental cutbacks, tax credits, etc.) on a jurisdiction’s bond rating. A bond rating cannot be disputed, and is a signal of health in a myriad of key categories (e.g. job growth, market appropriateness, strength of product, cost of doing business, scale of tax base, quality of infrastructure, capacity of management, etc.). If the bond rating is favorably impacted, the proposed initiative/action is likely a good move. It would lend some science to the decision making process and, having an objective measurement tool minimizes political impacts, educates the decision maker/stakeholder, and keeps the path to success clear of obstacles.