Isabella County had to remove 20 positions within the Sheriff’s road patrol department, including investigative units, road sergeants, and deputies after voters stuck down $3.7 million millage in November. The final vote tally was 15,219 opposed to 12,558 in favor of the millage.
Sherriff Michael Main said residents may see a difference on the road in the new year.
“You just can't take 20 very hard-working, dedicated law enforcement out of a community and not feel an impact or negative impact,” Main said.
Currently, the sheriff’s department can’t maintain any calls or road patrol and will have to rely on state police, who are handling all emergency and non-emergency calls. Main said there will be state police on the road but it won’t make up for the 20 positions the county cut.
“We took 17,000 or 18,000 calls a year,” Main said. “That’s a lot for another agency that was already with four other counties to pick up.”
Matthew Saxton is the director of Michigan’s Sheriff’s Association. He said that while other counties had failed millage proposals this year, none were as damaging as this one.
He said it could potentially be a while before the sheriff's department fully recovers.
“Just the employment side would be a difficult task but if you go too many years down the road, the rest of the equipment, vehicles and everything involved with providing law enforcement services would be outdated,” Saxton said. “You would essentially have to start from scratch.”
Sixteen of the 20 positions were filled when the millage failed. Main said those 16 members were able to either find new employment or retire. He said that nearly 75% of the current road patrol have already started new jobs before they would have to be officially let go on Dec. 31.
If the millage would have been approved, the county’s housing tax would’ve raised by 1.45 per every $1,000 of assessed taxable value. An owner of a 100,000-taxable house in the county would’ve had to pay an additional $145 per year.
Main said he understands the dilemma voters faced and he will do his best as sheriff to maintain safety with the resources his department has.
“There's been a lot that went on over the last year in our county and none of it good financially,” Main said. “We just have to go with what the decisions were and we will do what we can … At some point, if the community determines that we need to have this back, we’ll reengage those conversations and hopefully get that support and information out.”
The Michigan State Police couldn't be reached for comment.
