Costs to increase each year
By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
OXFORD TWP. — The Oxford Township Board of Trustees voted 6-1 in January to approve the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement Services Agreement from 2025-2027. Trustee Rod Charles voted no.
But that agreement comes with a substantial cost increase to the township over the next three years, and Oxford Township will have to find ways to save funds in order to pay for the final two years of the contract, Supervisor Jack Curtis said.
“(The agreement) was delivered to us on Dec. 9, 2024, in which we had no time to react for our Dec. 11 meeting. This contract was not put together by the sheriff’s office, it was put together by the county commission, and the county commission voted to expend their authority to raise the rates to cover all indirect costs to the sheriff’s office in our contract with them,” Curtis said.
In 2025, Oxford Township will pay $4,318,589 for its police services. In 2026 the payment jumps to $4,711,588, and to an estimated $5,140,344 in 2027. The actual price of the 2027 contract will be a 6% increase over the 2026 cost, plus the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Michigan State Tax Commission as determined in November 2025, according to the agreement, which is effective Jan. 1, 2025 through Dec. 31, 2027.
“Our county commission has just gone wild. The fact that they can give themselves a 21% raise over a 16% raise last year and then raise my sheriff’s rate after our budget is due,” Curtis said. “For 2025 we allocated $3.7 million and it’s automatically turned into $4.3 million.”
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Oxford Township Substation has 24 sheriff’s office personnel, including a lieutenant, a patrol sergeant and detective sergeant, two detectives, two school resource officers and 17 deputies.
“We have a public that needs to be protected. We have a community that no other community in Oakland County has experienced like Oxford has. And our residents demand 100% policing coverage by our sheriff’s office,” Curtis said.
The Oakland County Board of Commissioners voted on Nov. 21 to raise the rates for police services by 33.7% over three years for 12 communities that contract with the sheriff’s office, effective Jan. 1, 2025. Addison, Brandon, Commerce, Highland, Independence, Lyon, Oakland, Orion, Oxford and Springfield townships, plus the Cities of Pontiac and Rochester Hills contract services with the sheriff’s office.
“I find this really objectionable that the county does this. I think Oakland County Board of Commissioners is completely out of control, especially for us here in north Oakland County. I don’t know what other alternatives we have to this. With all respect to Oakland County, can we contract with somebody else? Is that a possibility?” Charles said.
Paying for the cost increases
In August, Oxford voters passed a new Police Operating Millage for 4.25 mills, replacing the current 3.9152 mills that voters approved in 2020. The new millage would be for four years, 2025 through 2029, and would be levied on all taxable property in the township. The current millage expires in December 2024. The township estimates that it would collect $4.468 million in the first year of the millage.
Curtis said the township will not go back to voters for an additional police millage.
“There’s egg on my face because we budgeted for this (police services) and those criminals commissioners at Oakland County threw the eggs,” Curtis said, adding the township is looking at all options to pay for the cost increases – which could include cutting services or using general fund money.
“We’re going to cross that bridge in 2025. Because we are financially and fiscally responsible, we have the 2025 budget amount covered. For 2026, the rates of their annual costs will have to be reviewed. Whether we take money from the general fund, whether we cut services.”
Curtis said one of the measures that the Oxford Substation is doing is splitting shifts to avoid overtime. Oxford Township has also been in contact with other townships who contract with the sheriff’s office.
“We’re working with all of the townships affected by this. We’re going to the extremes of saying if we have to have our own policing unit what would it look like, how much would it cost? And we’re even going down to counting paper towels that they (deputies) use and we’re charged for. No stone is left unturned. We are looking at everything with a microscope to save us a dime to keep our sheriff’s deputies on the streets, at our schools, at our events,” Curtis said.
“Can we have Oxford Township and maybe some of our neighboring townships like Brandon, Addison that (have) similar demographics get out of Oakland County and go to Lapeer County?” Charles said.