CHARLOTTE, Mich — Beginning on December 1, 2024, the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office will have to eliminate road patrol coverage from 6:00pm to 6:00am as a cost-saving measure.
Sheriff Tom Reich detailed the changes at a press conference Thursday.
He said that despite the elimination of the patrols, there would not be layoffs at this time.
Reich is hopeful that the county can put forward a public safety millage in May, a process that will start in the coming weeks. Officials are unsure how much that would cost taxpayers.
WATCH: Neighborhood reporters Travis Hicks and Will Lemmink recap today's press conference...
This is due to the tax limitation proposal failing on November 5, the funding for critical services at Eaton County did not pass at the ballot box. In 2022, ECSO eliminated the midnight to 6:00 a.m. shift due to staffing shortages. The absence from 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. will leave Eaton County Sheriff’s Deputies' only coverage outside of contracted areas from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
We talked with neighbors this week about what those cuts could mean for them.
“I know there’s other Eaton County agencies that will suffer, but not like the Eaton County Sheriff's department. I don't want to see any of them lose their jobs, lose their pensions.” Said Robert Overholt, Resident of Sunfeild.
“We’ll still have state troopers here, We’ll have Eaton County right over at Delta, 12 minutes away and that's going the speed limit. They could be here pretty quick if there’s an emergency.” said Will Simon.
WATCH: Previous coverage of tax limitation proposal:
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