ALLEN PARK, Mich. (WJBK) — Allen Park City Council passed a balanced budget Tuesday, but to do that they had to vote to eliminate the police and fire departments. Residents are stunned.

“It is hard to be supportive to a council which does not value the quality of my life,” said Jennifer Babin.

She is one of several Allen Park residents who attended the city council meeting because they are concerned about their safety.

“It scares me and I feel glad that I know what to do if my husband needed CPR, but I know there [are] lots of people who don’t,” Babin said.

The city is drowning in debt after the failed investment into Unity Movie Studios. Now its millage didn’t pass. With a $4-million budget shortfall, city officials don’t have enough to pay its bills and even into the pension fund, let alone police and fire.

In a desperate move to balance the budget, the council voted to eliminate the city’s fire and police departments and outsource emergency services.

“What has been added for both police and fire is the outsourcing of both of those departments, and so there is a single line item in there that says contracted services and you can see that for both police and for fire,” said Plante Moran accountant Carl Johnson.

We’re told Allen Park has already sent a letter to neighboring cities in Wayne County asking if they would provide police and fire services. So far, no city that is already doing more with less has taken Allen Park up on its offer.

“We’ve cut back on the amount of police officers that work in the city and patrol, but so [has] everybody else. I don’t see how Taylor, Lincoln Park, Melvindale or Dearborn can afford to send officers over to our city and respond to the 12,000 service calls that we handle each year,” said Officer Wayne Albright.

“You’ve given away the farm. You’ve given away the safety of this city and you’re never getting it back,” said fire department union president Jeff O’Riley.

What would happen to the jobs of police officers and firefighters is still unclear, but one thing is for sure, if outsourcing becomes a reality, many people like Babin are planning to move.

“If my city itself can’t support me and the quality of life I think I should have,” she said.

The mayor even said while responding to a resident that no doubt the level of service will change in the City.

Courtesy (REPOST) of myFOXdetroit.com