City Commissioners meet virtually on 01-19-21. (Photo via City of Kalamazoo YouTube stream through Zoom meeting).
KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) The Kalamazoo City Commission has unanimously approved its Fiscal Year 2021 budget as of Monday night.
During a virtual meeting, Commissioners discussed the matter at length with multiple city workers. This follows multiple discussions of the budget in previous meetings, as well as a public hearing that was held earlier this month.
In total, the city passed a budget of $213,892,050, with $68.3 million allocated for the General Fund. For the General Fund, this represents an overall increase of 1.03% when compared to the Adopted 2020 Budget, according to city officials.
2020 was a year of protests, police and change in Kalamazoo
Updated Dec 30, 2020;
Posted Dec 30, 2020
2020 in Kalamazoo was a year marked with protests, change and deeper looks at race, policy and those who lead. (Joel Bissell | MLive)
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KALAMAZOO, MI Kalamazoo in 2020 mirrored much of what was going on across the nation.
The varying affects of the coronavirus pandemic. Protests. A deeper look at racism in America. Contention in the political sphere. And changes in leadership.
After a relatively quiet start to the year, and almost eerie silence on the streets brought on by two months of COVID-driven shutdowns, things changed drastically again after George Floyd was killed May 25 by a Minneapolis police officer as two fellow officers stood by.
Commissioners learned police chief was fired months after the fact
Updated Jan 19, 2021;
Posted Dec 23, 2020
After 23 years with the department, Karianne Thomas is set to be sworn in as the sixth chief of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. Police and firefighters have been a combine, cross trained department since 1982. Photo taken in December of 2017. (MLive.com file photo)
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KALAMAZOO, MI Two Kalamazoo City Commissioners said they only found out that Public Safety Chief Karianne Thomas was fired through an email they received from city administration sent hours before a news article revealed the truth to the public.
Commissioner Chris Praedel said he found out the chief was terminated without cause from an email the city manager’s office sent to members of the Kalamazoo City Commission at 10:29 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15.
Kalamazoo city manager apologizes for not disclosing that police chief was fired
Updated Dec 21, 2020;
Posted Dec 21, 2020
Kalamazoo City Manager Jim Ritsema listens as community activists ask question during a press conference at City Hall in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. The press conference was held after protestors and counter protestors clashed in downtown Kalamazoo on Saturday, Aug. 15. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)Joel Bissell | MLive.com
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KALAMAZOO, MI Kalamazoo City Manager Jim Ritsema apologized to the community for how his office withheld key information about former chief of public safety Karianne Thomas’s separation from the city.
Karianne Thomas was fired, the Kalamazoo Gazette confirmed in a story published in December, months after she left her position as public safety chief.
Thomas had served with KDPS as the Chief since 2017.
During a virtual meeting Monday night, City Manager Ritsema spoke on the matter, explaining why it had previously been said that she had resigned. The conversation began earlier in the meeting when an item was presented for approval, which would allow KDPS Assistant Chief of Investigations David Boysen to enter the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP).
According to city documents, KDPS members are eligible to retire with an unreduced pension at any age after 25 years of credited, or age 50 with 10 years of credited service. The program allows those approved to defer their retirement allowance for a specific period of time, as long as that period does not exceed eight years. Documents state that this program allows the city to “retain valuable, skilled employee’s and aid with succession planning.”