Michigan sheriffs tell House committee jails are strained; request fixes on mental‑health beds and reimbursements

Members of the Michigan Sheriffs Association told the Michigan House Judiciary Committee in Lansing that county jails are strained by a shortage of mental‑health treatment beds, staffing shortfalls and outdated state reimbursement rates, and asked lawmakers to adopt a series of statutory changes to ease the pressure.

The request came during an informational presentation by Matt Saxton, executive director of the Michigan Sheriffs Association, joined by Deputy Director Dan Fonas and Sheriffs Michael Poulan of Muskegon County and Troy Goodnough of Monroe County. Saxton said the association — which represents Michigan’s 83 elected sheriffs — employs about 10,000 public‑safety professionals statewide and operates multiple volunteer and training programs, including a victim‑services volunteer network and a contingency team that assists counties after line‑of‑duty deaths.

The sheriffs pressed several legislative priorities they said would reduce jail overcrowding and operational strain. Among the items they outlined were: a legislative option to waive a 1,000‑hour reemployment cap for some county pension systems so retired employees can return to work; increased per‑diem reimbursements from the Michigan Department of Corrections for county housing of MDOC violators and other sentenced people who remain in county custody; a remedy or reimbursement when MDOC delays taking custody of sentenced people; a short extension to the time MDOC has to accept certain first‑degree murder commitments; and statutory changes to allow adult and juvenile arrestees who committed the same offense to be transported together to a secure processing location (with required sight‑and‑sound separation once inside a facility).

Saxton described the retiree‑reemployment proposal as a tool to address retention: "We're looking to basically replicate something that MERS has done," he said, asking the legislature to provide an option for counties to remove the 1,000‑hour barrier so agencies can retain institutional knowledge. Dan Fonas told legislators that Wayne County alone currently has about 350 vacancies, a figure he tied to high overtime and service gaps.

Sheriff Michael Poulan described how sheriffs’ offices frequently do more than patrol and jail administration: "The duties of sheriff are immense," he said, listing functions that include court services, civil process, marine and ORV enforcement, dispatch, animal control and community programs. Poulan highlighted local mental‑health initiatives such as crisis intervention team training and embedded mental‑health workers who can be notified through patrol computers to follow up with individuals.

Sheriff Troy Goodnough described correctional programs his office uses to reduce recidivism, including medication‑assisted treatment, in‑jail GED instruction, peer support and a clinician embedded 40 hours per week. He said such programs helped Monroe County achieve a 37 percent reduction in recidivism among participants: "We have a discharge plan that includes ... continuity of care for mental health, housing, transportation, and the basic needs," he said.

The association also described several MSA programs and supports: a victim‑services volunteer program funded in part by an $85,000 annual DHHS grant that trains roughly 600 volunteer advocates across the state; a SMART (Sheriffs and Municipal Assistance Response Team) group that assists with funerals and honors at no charge; specialized training academies including marine and ORV patrol training; and a New Sheriffs Institute. Saxton said the association operates on a roughly $1.3 million budget with less than $100,000 from sheriff dues and that MSA is a 501(c)(3).

On gun‑safety tools created last session, Saxton said the association supported the laws and that law enforcement petitions account for most orders: "About 81.5% of the time that a ... ERPO has been issued, it has been requested by law enforcement," he said, adding that, as of his presentation, there were about 357 active orders and 291 petitions by law enforcement.

During questions, Representative Breen asked whether the DHHS victim‑services grant might be affected by pending DHHS cuts. Saxton said he did not believe the $85,000 grant would be cut but called the program administratively costly relative to its size and said MSA would welcome alternative funding options.

On reimbursement numbers the association seeks to change, speakers cited historical and local figures: the statutory county jail reimbursement rate for MDOC parole violators is $35 per day, a rate established in 1988; Saxton and Fonas noted that actual per‑inmate daily costs in some jurisdictions can be much higher (Fonas said Wayne County faces costs of about $165 per day). The association asked the legislature to consider incremental increases to the existing MDOC reimbursement tiers and to reimburse counties when MDOC delays accepting custody of sentenced individuals.

No formal committee action or vote occurred; the session consisted of the presentation and a question‑and‑answer period with several representatives. Committee members thanked the sheriffs and noted bills on the committee’s and legislature’s calendars relevant to the sheriffs’ priorities.

The Michigan Sheriffs Association supplied a list of eight legislative priorities in writing to the committee and asked lawmakers to reintroduce and pass measures that would (1) allow targeted retiree reemployment flexibility in some county pension systems, (2) require or increase MDOC reimbursements when transfers are delayed, (3) raise per‑diem rates for housing MDOC violators, (4) modestly increase higher reimbursement tiers for sentenced people kept in county custody, (5) permit joint transport of co‑arrestees (adult and juvenile) to processing with post‑transport separation, (6) extend MDOC acceptance windows for certain first‑degree murder commitments to reduce county detention time, (7) adopt tighter MCOLES‑related vetting rules to alert prospective employers about officers with serious allegations, and (8) require minimum experience or certification for candidates for sheriff (the association proposed a five‑year law‑enforcement or MCOLES‑certification threshold).