Hackel Honors Communities for Shared Services

St. Clair Shores was one of nine communities recently recognized by County Executive Mark Hackel for sharing services with other municipalities.

The Shores joined with Eastpointe and Roseville in 2010 to consolidate their dispatch centers into one regional facility.

The three communities created the , which provides police, fire and EMS dispatch for the cities.

“It is especially important in these tough fiscal times for local communities to work together to find a way to continue to offer great services to residents,” said Hackel, in a release. “I am pleased that so many of the municipalities in Macomb County know the value of sharing services, as this practice is the future of how local government will do business.”

In addition to the receiving the recognition from the county, members of SERESA also recently received state-wide honors.

Supervisor Kevin Poole received the Supervisor of the Year award from the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials. John Haase, a member of Roseville's information technology department, received the Information Technologist of the Year award from the association.

Also recognized by the association was supervisor Steve Puchovan and dispatchers Melinda Obodzinski, John Jones, Bonnie Gonzalez and Allison O'Connor who recieved the Team Certificate of Excellence for their work on April 25, 2011, when an Eastpointe police officer was injured by a drunk driver during a traffic stop.

Other communities to be recognized by Hackel:

• Mount Clemens: In 2005, the Mount Clemens City Commission voted to contract policing services from the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office.

• Warren and Sterling Heights: The two cities made an intergovernmental agreement in 2011 that will allow for residents of both communities to utilize parks and recreation programs in either city.

• Clinton Township, Shelby Township, Sterling Heights, Warren, Utica and Macomb County: Officials from the six listed communities joined together in 2011 to create the Macomb Area Communities for Regional Opportunities task force, or MACRO. The group is designed to meet for the purpose of discussing other ways that service sharing between local communities can be implemented.