Bay City is going bullet-proof, at least with its utilities department. Concerned clerks say they're getting threats and need the protection.
Standing in line at the utilities department at Bay City City Hall, you'll see a single yellow rope divides customers with clerks.
As the economy has gotten worse, so have the threats, clerks say, from customers who've had their utilities turned off.
The solution? A $73,000 installation of a wall-to-wall counter with bullet-proof glass. Some say, that's excessive.
Darrin DeMott, who works in Bay City, says "It's a lot of money to spend of the taxpayers money over what I don't think is a huge issue."
Bay City Commissioner Kevin Novellino, who voted against the measure, says "I just don't see gun-wielding citizens running in to argue an electrical bill and shooting the place up."
Three other commissioners voted against the counter and glass. They say it costs too much in the midst of a budget crisis which includes a $1.6 million shortfall.
Novellino says while safety should always be the number one priority, he wanted to have discussions on more affordable solutions.
Others say, any office could use the same argument.
DeMott says, "Where do you stop? I mean, every public office everywhere in the county would have to have bullet-proof glass."
Just one floor above the utility office, the Bay City treasurer's office already has bullet-proof glass.
Supporters say, safety needs to come at any cost, and that while there have been no reports of physical violence, they want to be proactive and crack down before it happens.
The counter and glass are expected to be installed this summer.
This comes a month after another controversial purchase for Bay City. In March, it approved a bid of around a million and a half dollars to reconstruct the city hall roof.
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