COLDWATER, Mich. (WOOD) — Budget cuts and staff shortages have forced the Branch County Sheriff's Office to cut the number of patrol deputies over the last several years. The situation is so bad that the sheriff's office will stop patrolling on the weekends for at least a month and a half.
"(Branch County is) having a little bit of a funding crunch, so they're not able to get to the staffing levels that they'd like to be at," Michigan State Police 1st Lt. Jim Coleman told 24 Hour News 8 Monday.
Branch County Sheriff John Pollack issued a statement on Facebook Saturday, saying his department was hit hard after a millage failed in 2012 and the county commission cut funding. In turn, the sheriff's office cut the number of road deputies from 23 to eight. Of those, two have since retired and one is on long-term sick leave, leaving just five deputies to cover the county's more than 500 square miles.