After voters struck down a millage proposal in November that would’ve funded county’s road patrol unit, sheriffs in Mecosta and Clare Counties say they are preparing for extra stress on their departments as state police refocus their troopers to assist Isabella County.
Mecosta County Sheriff Brian Miller said his team might have to handle more calls during this transition, but believes it's too early to tell. He said all of the counties in Michigan State Police's district six area, which covers Mecosta, Clare, Osceola and Isabella Counties, will be affected by the change.
“It's too early to be able to tell, but I think obviously the effects are going to be a heavier workload for all of the counties surrounding Isabella and district six,” Miller said. “The added call load means more stress to our people.”
Miller said he isn’t worried there will be an impact on his county’s public safety, but rather the safety of Isabella County.
“It's not like it's a secret what happened,” Miller said. “Those that maybe have more of a criminal mindset, how much are they going to try to use that to their advantage in Isabella County?”
Mecosta County took around 12,000 service calls last year and is currently fully staffed according to Miller.
Clare County Sheriff John Wilson shared a similar view. He said that he believes there will be no impact on his county other than a lower state police presence. However, he said his department will receive less assistance than they usually would.
“We relied on them [state police] every once in a while,” Wilson said. “If we were a little short-handed, they would send a car up to kind of cover us and that's not going to happen anymore.”
State Police Lt. Michelle Robinson is the public information officer. She said state police will still be able to assist other counties in the case of an emergency but the agency is currently focusing a lot of its resources into making up Isabella County’s road patrol.
“Because of the lack of coverage from the Sheriff's Department, we will have to have an increased response to cover that void,” Robinson said. “If there are calls in Clare, Mecosta, or Osceola Counites, troopers will be responding to those as well.”
Isabella County takes on around 17,000 or 18,000 calls a year according to Sheriff Michael Main. State police will be filling in for the county until further notice.
