MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - On March 21st, the Meridian Township Board adopted a resolution to place a police and fire millage protection millage on the ballot.

Part of this millage would go towards eliminating the pension debt for police and fire while another part would go towards funding more equipment and employees for the Police and Fire Departments.

“About one mil of that will go to the pension debt and close to half a mil will go to adding a couple policemen and a couple firemen and dealing with some very important equipment needs from both departments," said Ron Styka, the Meridian Township Supervisor.

The Police Department would like to add a couple of officers to their road patrols and to have more help investigating fraud and identity theft related crimes.

“It’s identity theft and computer crimes and things like that we have someone dedicated to that but with those crimes on the increase we could use more," said David Hall, the Chief at the Meridian Township Police Department.

The Fire Department will need new equipment including a ladder truck over the next ten years.

“Our ladder truck, most expensive piece of equipment, about a million dollars and it’s eighteen years old, it’s got about two to three more years of life and it will need to be replaced," said Fred Cowper, the Chief of EMS and Fire at the Meridian Fire Department.

This is a millage that will not need to be renewed. If the millage is passed it is projected that the pension debt will be paid off in ten years.

If the millage does not pass, cuts will need to be made.

“Well if it doesn’t pass of course we can’t say for sure what we would do but obviously there would be huge cuts that would have to occur in the budget and I’m not even sure if there could be enough cuts,” said Ron Styka.