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Harper Woods Considers Merging Police, Fire Dept.

HARPER WOODS (WWJ) - Voters in Harper Woods will be deciding a big issue this coming week. WWJ's Rob Sanford said there's a ballot proposal to allow that city's fire and police department to merge.

On Tuesday, Harper Woods residents will decide the fate of a proposal that would see a merger between the police and fire departments.

If the proposal is passed, a certain number of police officers will be cross-trained to be part-time firemen.

The main reason is a million dollar budget deficit that needs to be balanced, as just about every municipality in Michigan is facing.

Declining property tax revenues and state revenue sharing money are forcing Harper Woods city officials to make tough decisions about services and personnel.

Opponents to the proposal said they cannot get on board with the measure because they have not seen a comprehensive plan on how this would all work.

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