DELTA TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Delta Township's police patrol at risk after voters reject Eaton County millage. Officials are now working to preserve their 40-year partnership with county deputies.
- Delta Township's deputy patrol faces uncertainty after the failed millage, with Supervisor Fonda Brewer committed to negotiating its continuation with the county.
- Logan Bailey cautions that increased payments might not guarantee service retention due to additional costs, complicating Eaton County's budget decisions.
- Watch video below to hear the impacts of Tuesday's vote for Delta Township.
After Tuesday's no vote on the public safety millage in Eaton County, local officials are scrambling to determine what happens next for public safety services.
"County Government from the County Clerk to the sheriff's office is going to look a lot different for this community," said Logan Bailey, county communications director.
I started my day in Charlotte, where time is ticking for the board of commissioners to make decisions before a new budget year begins this fall.
I talked to County Commission Chairperson Jim Mott after the failure of a different tax question on the November ballot, and now I'm talking with him after Tuesday's failed millage.
"We're gonna have to make some tough decisions and make some cuts here at the county, and that'll mean road patrol, that'll mean contracts with other municipalities," Mott said.
That means contracts like Delta Township's deputy patrol are on the chopping block, but Township Supervisor Fonda Brewer says they want to continue to work with the county.
"We've valued and loved the relationship for 40 years, and this is people that we're talking about," Brewer said.
Brewer says they'll be making efforts to negotiate with the county to possibly keep Eaton County Deputies in the Delta Patrol station. The township doesn't have its own police force, instead, Eaton County deputies patrol the streets.
"Funding is probably going to be an issue, but it's an issue we're going to have to face – and going to have to work through – how we would pay for services if the price tag is a little bit more," Brewer said.
But Bailey says more money might not cut it.
"Even if they were to pay more for whatever service it might be, that still doesn't mean we're going to be able to retain or sustain that service because there are other costs associated with it," Bailey said.
With the failed millage, big public safety decisions will have to be made, all while fighting against the clock. And it's not just deputies on the street, it's the prosecutors who take the cases to trial.
We asked Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd about the crime that's seen most often in Delta Township, which is retail fraud - like stealing from a store.
"Retail Frauds are not violent crimes, and while important and a very serious thing to me, especially because we have an economic crime unit here in Eaton County, we'll have to decide, though, do we have the manpower to bring those cases forward," Lloyd said.
As far as the near future for Delta Patrol, Brewer says they're working on a contract extension to keep Delta Patrol going for now.
"We hope we can have some conversations, to see if we can work on maybe some sort of extension if possible," Brewer said.
I'll be following any developments to come in the future for Delta Patrol substation and its deputies.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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