COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The fallout from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s budget cuts may affect operations at the Branch County Sheriff’s Department.
The governor used her line-item veto powers to take nearly one-billion dollars out of the budget proposals submitted by the legislature earlier this week.
Among the cuts was $13 million for the Michigan State Police Secondary Road Patrol program which helps Sheriff Departments around the state pay for additional road patrol deputies.
Branch County Sheriff John Pollack said in a post on his department’s Facebook page that “this cut could be devastating for the Branch County Sheriff’s Office and county residents. The loss of our “one deputy” will force us to drop weekend patrols and back to eight hour shifts Monday through Friday. The Governor and the legislatures need to quit playing political football with these necessary funds and the safety and security of our residents.”
Whitmer cut the money in an attempt to get Republican legislative leadership back to the bargaining table to come up with a plan to fund road repairs and other issues.
