When you run out of "free money"-----Branch County Sheriff's Department cuts weekend patrols after deputy retirements | WWMT

Branch County Sheriff's Department cuts weekend patrols after deputy retirements | WWMT
COLDWATER, Mich. — Without enough deputies to go around, the Branch County Sheriff Office was forced to cut to patrols to five days a week.
Down to just five deputies to cover more than 1,000 square miles, deputies will only patrol from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Weekdays are the busiest because deputies have court responsibilities and jail transports to make on top of criminal investigations and calls for service, according to Sheriff John Pollack.
"I can't do my job with five deputies," Pollack said.
...If there is an emergency when no deputies are on duty and state troopers are tied up, Pollack said, "dispatch has been told that they call the undersheriff, the undersheriff calls all our people in."
Branch County deputies respond to about 9,000 calls a year.
...On the heels of the 20-year millage Branch County voters approved in early August to fund a new jail, Pollack says he will again ask county commissioners for additional dollars to re-staff the department..."
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