Note from YPD Police Chief :Matt Harshberger

I recently gave information to CoPAC, the Rotary Club and many others about the cost breakdown of the bond proposal for the 96-bed jail expansion. At the time that I gave out the information, I believed it was accurate. However, upon having a meeting yesterday afternoon with the County Administrator , Bob Guenzel, I learned the information that I was spreading ($9 million for jail expansion & $11 million for court facilities improvements) was patently false/wrong/inaccurate/erroneous. I, along with all the other Chiefs and Directors in Washtenaw County , received this false information directly from the Sheriff and his jail administrator. Obviously, I will not allow this error of trust to occur again. The citizens of Washtenaw County should not be misinformed about any public issue and I will not allow it to happen again. Please accept my apology.
The truth, according to the County Administration , is that the entire $21 million bond proposal is going toward jail and correctional improvements, which includes the 96-bed jail expansion and jail infrastructure improvements, including support systems due to increased capacity. The county provided a written breakdown of the costs that shows specifically the recommended improvements and the cost of each, which totals $21,177,210. Bob Guenzel will be presenting this information at the City of Ypsilanti Council meeting on Tuesday, December 5th.
I have a copy of the cost breakdown for the bond proposal and I am happy to provide copies of it to anyone that may want it.
I am very sorry for the misinformation that I gave out with regard to the bond proposal costs. It is sad that I will not be able to trust information coming from the sheriffs department until it can be confirmed, or, as in this case, denied.
Take care and I hope you have a good weekend.

Matt Harshberger, Chief of Police
Ypsilanti Police Department
505 W. Michigan Ave. Ypsilanti, MI. 48197
Telephone: (734) 483-8590
Fax: (734) 483-7396
Email: mharshberger@cityofypsilanti.com

County Jail Issue

The Ypsilanti Police Department is being forced to return non-violent offenders back to the street,where most of them commit additional crimes, due to the lack of room in the Washtenaw County Jail. The County Jail is full, and will not accept these offenders and repeat offenders for housing. In addition, Washtenaw County has stopped allowing offenders arrested in Washtenaw County to be housed in jails in other locations in Michigan, due to the expense of doing so. I urge you to use the links to the right to learn more about this issue, and the unnecessary politics behind it. Then, please use the link provided to the Washtenaw County Commissioners, and demand a resolution to this problem. Most of you will need to contact Commissioner Ronnie Peterson. Clicking on the name below the group picture will take you to Commissioner Peterson's page where you will be able to email or phone him. I also suggest that you watch the Ann Arbor News, and Ypsilanti Courier for more information on this extremely urgent problem. Make your voice heard,any one of us could be the next victim of a repeat offender, released back to the street due to jail overcrowding.

ypsidog

Home Tour to Benefit Meals on Wheels is December 3rd

Please see the link to the right to find out more about how you can see some of Ypsilanti's most beautiful homes decorated for the holiday season, and help out Ypsilanti citizen's who benefit from the Meals on Wheels program.

ypsidog