Butler Township voters will be asked this spring to decide on a critical 3.0 mill  additional police department levy to restore services lost due to budget cuts.

The Butler Township Trustees decided to put the levy on the March 6th ballot after recently finishing the budgeting process for 2012.  The levy will generate about $645,000 and will cost the owner of a $100,000 dollar home about $92 additional dollars per year.

If the March levy fails, the Butler Township Police Department will operate at a -$300,000 to -$400,000 dollar deficit, an amount that cannot be maintained past 2015 without further, more severe service cuts.

Currently, the police department has three vacant positions: one full-time captain and two full-time officers.  If voters approve the March 6th levy, the two full-time officer positions may be filled.  If the levy fails, however, these positions will remain open, and the police department will be forced to make further cuts into their already small 12 officer department.  Butler Township residents have a unique opportunity when voting this March, as townships are one of the few jurisdictions where citizens involvement in voting has a direct effect on local government.

“When you vote on a police, fire or road levy, you directly allocate public money to that specific department’s operations,” said Township Administrator Kim Lapensee.  “Since funds can’t be moved interchangeably from one department to another, a vote for or against a levy has an almost immediate effect on that department’s operation.”

Be sure to vote on March 6!