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December 23, 2005Dept. lives within meansEditor's note: Fifth in a series of stories about people, places and events that made news over the past year.BEULAH - Benzie County's sheriff's department is living within its means, four months after voters rejected a millage to fund road patrol. "We're doing the best we can with what we're working with," said county administrator Chuck Clarke. County residents in August voted by a more than 2-1 margin against a millage that would have raised more than $500,000 in the first year to fund road patrol, a school officer, a narcotics officer and marine and snowmobile patrols. The county eliminated six road patrol deputy positions for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, but employee transfers and two voluntary layoffs spared all but two full-time and two part-time jail cooks. Officials contracted with Canteen Correctional Services to provide jail food service and saved an estimated $70,000. Two deputies, Thomas Whale and Ken Fallowfield, took 15-month leaves for independent contracting jobs in Iraq and are not receiving pay or benefits while away. They are entitled to get their jobs back when they return from overseas at the end of 2006, if necessary, by bumping a deputy with less seniority. County commissioners lined up unanimously behind the millage request, but it failed 2,648 to 1,298 votes. Some voters who opposed the millage cited the county's failure to implement Headlee rollbacks since voters in 1989 approved a jail millage. The county collected millions too much in taxes between 1989 and when the Headlee error was discovered in 2004.. Clarke said county officials will have to determine the next step. "As far as next year I think we need to re-evaluate whether we return to voters for a millage," he said. "My guess is that response time is still excellent, but I think people are getting taxed."
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