COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Branch County Sheriff Fred Blankenship told the Branch County Board of Commissioners during their work session on Thursday they plan to start overnight road patrols in the middle of April.
Blankenship said they have already talked with the Michigan State Police about the new schedule.
Complaints from county residents about the lack of 24 hour coverage led Commissioners to address the issue during the 2023 budget negotiations.
Commissioners approved the addition of six Sheriff’s Department Road Patrol deputies in the 2024 budget which was supposed to have made the department a 24 hour operation for the first time in 12 years.
But the Sheriff’s Department were not able to fill those positions until last fall due to recruitment issues over pay and benefits.
It was estimated the six additional deputies would cost the county between $721,000 and $1 million annually over the next seven years. ARPA and Opioid settlements partially funded the new positions.
Let’s not be like other counties that spend money freely on pet projects, accounting firms, and surveys on industrial development when our county Sheriff needs funding to protect us. Safety First.