ISABELLA COUNTY — Isabella County continues to move ahead without its road patrol.
The entire division was cut at the end of last year because of a budget shortfall and a failed special millage in May.
All of that forced them to cut most deputies, leaving just the sheriff and undersheriff.
Isabella County Central Dispatch Director Chad Gittus said response times are always on the mind of a dispatcher.
“We take emergency calls,” Gittus said. “We listen to people’s problems. And on their worst day. So, getting them help as fast as we can is a priority.”
Gittus said they had reservations about the absence of Isabella County deputies out on patrol.
“I’ve been here 22 years, and I’ve never experienced not having a sheriff’s deputy out on the road,” Gittus said. “I think that was a big concern for everybody. I’m not a superstitious kind of guy, but I’m going to knock on some wood here that, you know, fortunately, we haven’t had a lot of major incidents occur, which is a good thing.”
Gittus said they have had to revamp their operations. He said other local law enforcement agencies are stepping in to fill in the gaps.
“Within the city of Mount Pleasant, the city of Mount Pleasant Police Department fills in that void there,” Gittus said. “So, everything is jurisdiction boundary-based on our CAD system. And if it falls within that jurisdiction’s boundary, then the program tells us who to dispatch. So, the Michigan State Police is our primary out-of-county agency that we dispatch.”
He said he doesn’t have any specific data, but state police and local law enforcement are doing a good job keeping up with calls.
“The data shows that the response times are staying right around the same for the county and for all of our agencies. The number of calls that the Mount Pleasant State Police posts have gone up for sure,” said Gittus.
Shepherd Police Chief Luke Sawyer said the cuts at the sheriff’s office have impacted his department.
“Previously, every law enforcement officer in Isabella County was deputized through the Isabella County Sheriff’s Department, which allowed us to go outside our normal areas of coverage. Now, we need to be requested by the Michigan State Police or get their permission before we venture out,” said Sawyer.
He said they have been assisting when called on, but he hopes they are able to come up with a better long-term solution.
“The Mount Pleasant post is the center location, but they have different counties that they’re also responsible for as well,” Sawyer said. “So, it’s a pretty vast area for one agency to be covering, on top of being the primary law enforcement agency in the county itself.”