Manistee County Sheriff Seeks 2 Additional Deputies Amid Growth

With Manistee County's growth comes an increased need for first responders. It's part of the Manistee County sheriff's argument to add two more deputies to the county's next budget.

Sheriff Brian Gutowski reported the request at the May Manistee County Public Safety Committee meeting.

He acknowledges “budgetary constraints,” the fact that “the pool of money is limited” and the current needs of other county departments.

“I think the need is justified,” Gutowski told the committee.

Gutowski told the News Advocate that the area has seen growth recently and that has had an impact on the sheriff's office.

Sammie Lukaskiewicz, executive director of the Manistee County Visitors Bureau, told the Manistee Downtown Development Authority last spring that Manistee County welcomed about 640,000 visitors in 2021.

When a county welcomes more people into the area, it requires more services like those provided by the sheriff's office, Gutowski said.

In March, Gutowski presented the sheriff's office's annual report that combines information from highway patrol, the jail and all other activities overseen by the sheriff's office.

According to the report, the sheriff's office has seen a marked increase in the number of times officers have filed a written complaint over the past six years. Written complaints are recorded when a deputy creates a report after events such as a self-initiated traffic stop.

Last year, there were 3,939 written complaints, a 40.4% increase from 2018. The Sheriff's Office had a record year in 2022 with 4,007 complaints.

Although it's difficult to say how much an individual deputy costs when you factor in insurance and other benefits, Gutowski said it comes out to about $67,000.

He said the sheriff's office submitted the initial budget request on May 3.

The request would then be forwarded to the Manistee County Board of Commissioners for the final decision on the budget for the period October 1, 2024 through September. 30, fiscal year 2025.

“The Manistee County commissioners have been very supportive and we have a great working relationship,” Gutowski said, thanking the board for its past assistance.

In the 2023-2024 county budget, public safety makes up about 40% of the county's roughly $14 million general fund spending.

This category includes the sheriff's office and other public safety expenses such as the jail, regional drug enforcement, medical examiner, court security, county attorney and animal control.

During the public safety meeting, Gutowski referenced the work the Michigan State Police Cadillac Post does to assist Manistee County officers during calls for service.

“Their ability to help us is great, (but) again, we are the full-service, 24-hour law enforcement agency for Manistee County,” Gutowski said.

Cadillac Post Commander Travis House was also present at the May public safety committee meeting. He praised the sheriff's office for its work and acknowledged the need to strengthen its staff.

There are currently 11 deputy positions in the Sheriff's Office.

“Just to give some perspective to those in the room who have a say in budget matters, I did a study when we separated from the Traverse City post on the needs in the greater Texas area. Cadillac that included nine different counties,” House said. “At that time, I calculated Manistee at 10 (deputies) as the maximum and that put them, based on their call volume from Jan. 1, 2022, through Sept. 22, at about 602 calls per call taker in the office of the sheriff.”

He said this “results in a very difficult time to provide a high level of service”.

House said that while he knows nothing about Manistee County's budget, he has police command's perspective on how to address criminal behavior issues and ensure proactive policing.

The Sheriff's Office typically includes statistics on the activities of the Jail, Animal Control, and Sheriff's Office in the monthly records of the monthly Public Safety Committee meetings.

The latest packet contains information from April, which contained statistics on detainees and the arrests that led to their incarceration. There were 46 arrests made by five agencies.

The Sheriff's Office is responsible for about 52% of arrests in April, which is fairly consistent with previous reports showing the Sheriff's Office makes most of the arrests in the county.

Gutowski said part of the goal in requesting two additional deputies was to provide additional help to deputies already on staff.

The move would help staff stay safer and be more proactive while improving resident safety at the same time, he said.

While the priority is to focus on calls for service when someone calls 911, adding additional staff would allow more time to be spent on tasks such as expediting stops, follow-ups and investigations.

“I get calls sometimes every week here at the sheriff's office about speeding. Obviously, speeding increases road accidents, that sort of thing. “It’s a security risk,” he said.

Then, when drivers see police stopping vehicles and enforcing speed limits, Gutowski said it has a deterrent effect. He added that the fact that MPs are in the area has a deterrent effect also extends to people “with bad intentions”.

Recent police blotters from the Sheriff's Office show deputies respond to a wide range of calls for service, from someone suffering a mental health crisis to domestic incidents, thefts, incorrigible youth and traffic hazards .

“I feel like today people sometimes look to law enforcement for a lot of different things. Our MPs wear many different hats,” he said. You go from social worker to police officer to mental health professional in (one day). … We ask a lot of them.

He added that changing situations also lead to the need for additional training for different situations.