Marine patrol agreement for township lakes

By Dana Casadei

The 2025-2027 marine patrol services agreement with Bloomfield Township was approved at the board of trustees meeting on Monday, June 9.

The new agreement will start in 2025 and last for three years, and is a renewal of a similar contract the township has signed in the past.

The approval of this agreement will allow for any resident residing on a designated lake or waterway within the township to use these services if they pay for it. For residents to be able to use this service, the township has to have an agreement with Oakland County Sheriff marine patrol unit, which is what they voted on at the meeting.

According to clerk Martin Brook, the contract was reviewed by legal counsel and included only minor changes from the current contract. Most of the changes had to do with a slight rise in costs.

The hourly rates for a marine unit deputy with a boat for 2025 would be $49.64 per hour, $54.15 for 2026, and $59.08 for 2027. Other rates in the contract include those for a marine unit deputy with a boat overtime rate and a marine unit deputy without a boat

While those are the current projected costs for 2026 and 2027 it is noted within the contract that the 2027 rates are subject to change due to the Inflation Rate Multiplier (IRM), and actual rates won’t be determined until this November. IRM is provided by the Michigan State Tax Commission.

When this service is used the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office invoices the township, which is then repaid by the Home Owners Association that requested the use of the service.

Brook said that in prior years the cost for this has been minimal, with the marine deputies only being contracted for a few hours each month with a cost of about a couple hundred dollars per month.

Currently, the only residents in Bloomfield Township who use the marine patrol services are those on Upper Long Lake. Brook mentioned it was unclear if the residents plan to use it again within the three years of the new contract, or if there were any new residents who would be using this resource.

The final vote was 6-0 in favor of approving the agreement. Treasurer Michael Schostak was not in attendance.