HOUGHTON — Multiple Houghton residents recently urged the Houghton City Council not to consider defunding the police department.

At a previous city council meeting, several activists had asked the panel to consider beginning the process of shrinking the department to divert funds to other agencies in areas such as mental health and social work.

In his police report, Chief John Donnelly said he had talked with the Michigan Technological University students who had requested defunding at the previous meeting. The two-hour discussion was productive, he said,

“That was pretty exciting to be able to get my side of the story out,” he said. “I was able to learn from them, too, what they’re after. They assured me they’re not anti-police … they don’t want racism as a part of American culture, and I agree with that.”

No action was taken on the issue.