Detroit Mayor Dave Bing says a judge’s order blocking 12-hour shifts for police officers will make it harder to balance the budget and keep the city safe.
"Absolutely. No doubt about it," he said. "I think some of the initiatives that we were putting forward was for two different reasons – once again, to make sure we stay within our budget, but also to keep as many police officers on the street as we possibly could and keeping them in the neighborhoods. So this doesn’t help."
A Wayne County judge issued a restraining order last week at the request of the police officers union. The union objects to the department’s plan to cut officers’ pay and make them work longer shifts.
The next hearing on the case is scheduled for Wednesday, when the judge could either lift or continue the injunction.
The judge questioned the city’s authority to impose the plan now that Michigan’s emergency manager law is suspended pending a referendum. The city is operated under a consent agreement that’s allowed under the law. The mayor and Gov. Rick Snyder say the referendum should have no effect on the consent agreement between the state and the city.
