By David Fleet
Editor
Two state lawmakers are looking to local funding for area police patrols.
State Represenatives David Martin and Mike Mueller are helping spearhead a plan to provide permanent and stable funding for a program that ensures rural Michigan communities have police protection.
The state’s secondary road patrol program provides funding for sheriff’s deputies to patrol roads outside of cities and villages. The program is funded by an assessment included in the fines paid on motor vehicle civil infractions, but this funding has declined in recent years. The number of deputies supported by the program peaked in 2001, declining since then as funding has fallen.
“The secondary road patrol program puts officers on patrol in neighborhoods outside of town, making sure they’re available to respond quickly in an emergency,” Martin said.
“We’re making changes to make sure this program is sustainable and that more officers aren’t pulled from the roads.”

Mueller, a retired sheriff’s deputy, said House Bills 5772, 5773, 5732 and 5569 will stabilize the funding by dedicating $15 million of the liquor taxes collected by the state each year to the program. The bills do not increase the tax on consumers in any way.
“Our neighborhoods are safer when deputies are out patrolling local roads,” said Mueller (R-51st District serving Groveland and Atlas townships along with the Village of Goodrich.) “Rather than depending on officers to issue tickets, our plan provides a permanent dedicated funding source that will keep officers patrolling our local roads long into the future.”
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office has received Secondary Road Patrol (SRP) funding for 43 years.
“I appreciate this legislative effort to fix a long standing problem and to create a permanent funding mechanism for critical secondary road patrol efforts,” said Oakland County Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard.
Public Act 416 of 1978, as amended, established the Secondary Road Patrol and Accident Prevention Program. The funding is used for uniformed Deputies to patrol secondary roads throughout the County, respond to citizen requests, perform traffic law enforcement and investigate crashes involving motor vehicles. The Sheriff’s Office 416 Unit is unique as they are responsible to patrol the entire County. The Unit is particularly useful in supporting smaller communities, such as Brandon Township, in providing backup when there are a limited number of cars available to respond to time-consuming incidents such as accidents, OWI arrests and especially during inclement weather.
The SRP formula to fund deputies throughout the state of Michigan has been broken for many years. While one-time appropriations have been helpful, a long-term solution needs to be implemented to prevent dwindling funds. This fund needs to be restored to its historic level with permanent funding indexed to inflation. Should this legislation pass, it would ensure that sheriff’s offices across the state have the necessary resources to provide patrol services to more rural communities and ensure that deputies are available to respond quickly in an emergency.
The plan remains under consideration by the House Government Operations Committee, which is chaired by Mueller.