A MidMichigan police station lays off six officers.
It happened around noon in Genesee County's Genesee Township.
But both sides say there's still hope to spare those jobs.
With a vote of five to two, Genesee Township's board voted to eliminate six police positions.
Community Policing Offer Tobi Balenger says, "What are you going to tell them when it takes an hour and a half to get to a baby choking? What are you going to tell them? We had to lay off the first source of medical? What are you going to tell them?"
Officers say this reduces the department of 25, down to 19, leaving it with six full-time road patrol crews.
Vice President of the Police Union Jody Grant says, "We don't want a list of demands sent to us by Mr. Fuhr and just forced into his demands. We have a contract here that was negotiated in good faith."
Saying it's been disrespected, the police union feels that it's been left out of the bargaining process.
However, management says there's no other choice.
Genesee Township Police Chief Tod Sorensen says, "If I had another option I'm willing to take it, but they didn't give us anything to work with"
Both the union and the township say they are open to ideas and open to negotiations, but here is the sticking point, both sides don't like what the other side is proposing.
First, management proposed a 5% cut across the township, then going to 32-hour weeks. The union rejected both of those.
Finally, May 4th voters turned down a measure that would have saved those positions by increasing taxes by an average of $84 per year.
The township board says it's leading by example. It took a 10% pay cut when taking office and eliminated its health benefits. That saves the township a half a million dollars over 4-years.
However, the union says it has its own plan to reduce the deficit while sparing jobs.
At the end of the meeting, the township board and union agreed to form a committee to try to find a better solution.
