WYOMING, Mich. — Wyoming Police Chief Kimberly Koster is responding after voters approved a millage that will help bring in about $4 million to Wyoming Public Safety.
The millage will cost residents $150 for every $100,000 in taxable home value. It will help law enforcement hire additional staff and cut down on their emergency response times.
Results show 64% of voters said yes to the millage, while 36% voted no.
Koster said the additional funding will help hire 14 police officers and 13 firefighters to help bolster their response.
"It's really going to provide us with opportunities to increase our service to the community, in terms of fire response, our response times will reduce, we'll be able to open up this station here on Division for the first time with full time staff in our history," Koster said. "So again, that's just going to enhance our services."
Hiring for the positions will begin Wednesday, with more job listings going out throughout the week. The funding will also be used to add sleeping quarters for fire crews and other renovations.
Along with improving response time during emergencies, the additional staff are aiming to decrease crime in Wyoming, Koster said.
"So medical emergencies, car crashes, you know, gas leaks, any type of emergency that somebody has that fire can respond to, we'll be able to get there much quicker. In terms of our police service, it will increase our neighborhood patrols here," she said.
Koster said she hopes additional police patrols will help officers making connection with residents and businesses.
The millage approval comes after Wyoming Public Safety has struggled with understaffing. Recently, two of Wyoming's fire stations have not able to operate due to staffing issues and aging equipment.
Last year, the police department attempted to raise money through a proposed increase in income tax. Voters rejected the proposal.
Koster is thanking the community for supporting Wyoming law enforcement and fire crews on Tuesday.
"We've always had great community support for public safety in the city of Wyoming, but this was just a blessing," Koster said.
The millage will go into effect on July 1 and expire on June 30, 2028. Read more about what the millage involves here.
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