LANSING – With more than $100 million in cuts in state funding for local police and fire protection that help keep families and neighborhoods safe on the line, State Representative Bettie C. Scott (D-Detroit) on Thursday voted no to the cuts.
"We cannot afford these deep cuts, especially when they're made at the expense of our families, who rely on our dedicated firefighters and police officers to be there to answer their call in an emergency," Scott said. "Taking more firefighters and officers off our streets in these tough times will impact the safety of Detroit's families and neighborhoods. I could not support these cuts that will only hurt our residents and drive job providers away from Detroit and the state, worsening our already tough economy."
With a decrease of more than $500 million in revenue sharing – money from the state that local governments rely on to pay for police and fire protection and other essential services – between 2001 and 2007, Michigan lost more than 2,600 firefighters and almost 1,500 police and sheriff's patrol officers.
Under the plan, that passed the House, Detroit will lose nearly $30 million in revenue sharing dollars.
"I voted against the cuts because keeping our local firefighters and police officers on the job is crucial to the safety of our families, communities and businesses," Scott said. "No one wants to live, raise a family or work in a state that doesn't provide the essential services that protect its residents."