- The sheriff is currently operating 13 positions short, and a possible cut in funding could affect recovery efforts.
- Eaton County voters will have a say on the tax limitation ballot proposal on November 5th.
- Watch the video above to see what the sheriff's department is saying about the possible funding cuts.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
It’s the first step in getting help in an emergency, a call to 911.
but the response that comes next could be affected by funding issues within Eaton County.
“It could mean we have no road patrol here in Eaton County and that is something that's on our mind.” Said Kuhlman.
Captain Chris Kuhlman is talking about the possible impacts of what's called the tax limitation proposal on November's ballot. County Commissioners will decide who gets what cuts if the vote fails.
“The Michigan constitution requires that the sheriff's office have a jail, they don’t require that they have a road patrol.” Said Kuhlman.
The road patrol includes deputies who go out on calls for help. I asked county prosecutor Doug Lloyd what this might be in the bigger picture of policing and prosecution.
“Because at the end of the day if citizens decide on this ballot proposal they're gonna have to decide what crimes for us to prosecute.” Said Lloyd.
A fully staffed sheriff's force would mean full coverage for all shifts, and currently being 13 positions down has already caused cuts in services.
“Right now just based on our staffing levels we can't provide services from 12 am to 6 am, we don't have enough staff to cover those shifts, if we were fully staffed we’d have at least three deputies on each shift with a supervisor that would be 24/7," Said Kuhlman.
Kuhlman says by May of next year the department has the potential to become nearly fully staffed with deputies completing training and entering solo road patrol.
“We would only be down two positions and that is such a huge turnaround from the 12 to 16 we’ve been averaging over the past four years.” Said Kuhlman.
Kuhlman says that if the vote fails, county commissioners would decide what budgets get cut.
Eaton County residents will decide on the issue in November. County officials say it could cost the average taxpayer about 18$ a month in additional property taxes.
In past town halls, the issue has seen people on both sides of the issue.
"It's a double-edged sword I haven't made a decision," said an Eaton County Resident.
"No doubt I'm voting yes on this because it's essential and it's needed," said an Eaton County Resident.
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