COLDWATER, MI (WTVB)- Despite losing three deputies over the last couple months the Branch County Sheriffs Department remains committed to maintaining it’s recently reimplemented 24 hour road patrols. The department has seen one veteran officer retire and two others leave the department for other opportunities.
Currently an officer coming in from another agency began field training but that can take as long as 4 months to complete, Sheriff Fred Blankenship says they have interviews lined up with possible candidates for the open positions as well as the possibility of promotions from inside the correctional staff. Any new hires would still be months away from joining the road patrol.
Blankenship said in a WTVB interview in April that that lower then average pay and benefits made it difficult to compete with other area departments. There is hope that could change later this summer when the county begins negotiating new contracts. To prepare for the upcoming negotiations the county has sent a wage study request to 14 other counties.
Branch County reinstated 24 hour patrols April 1st for the first time since they were eliminated in 2012 as part of county wide budget cuts that also eliminated 11 deputies positions. Branch County relied on The Michigan State Police to fill the void mainly during overnight hours but they too are currently dealing with manpower issues.
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