By Tim Dolehanty/Ogemaw County Administrator*
Average inmate population by month, January 2022 to September 2025. SOURCE: Ogemaw County Jail Inmate Rosters.
In February, Michigan Counties reported on Ogemaw County’s effort to restructure its approach to jail operations as commissioners worked to address serious financial challenges.
Over many years Ogemaw County resorted to reduced hours of operation and staff cuts to balance its budget. By fiscal 2025, many departments operated at or near minimum service levels, so options for further expenditure reductions were limited. Attention turned to operational costs of the county jail, which accounted for 21 percent of all General Fund expenditures. At the time, Ogemaw County faced a projected revenue reduction of 12.5 percent with (literally) no financial reserves to fill the gap. The situation was dire.
Michigan counties are required to provide suitable and sufficient jails. In lieu of providing a jail, counties may contract with other counties for the use of their jails. Each “sending” county is still required to maintain a lockup consistent with MDOC Administrative Rules for Jails and Lockups. (MCL 45.16a) Ogemaw County officials negotiated with neighboring Gladwin County for inmate housing. With this one-year contract in hand, the final budget for jail operations in fiscal year 2025 was reduced by nearly half.
After the budget was adopted, the Board of Commissioners’ Law Enforcement Committee committed itself to regular meetings with jail operations stakeholders to help facilitate the transition. Regular participants included the sheriff and undersheriff, jail operations personnel, court administrators, local and state law enforcement representatives, indigent defense attorneys, and Gladwin County jail operations personnel. The dedication of this stakeholder group was key to the ultimate success of the transition.
New scheduling and transport logistics were among the first challenges to be addressed. Adequate staffing to ensure safe and secure inmate transport was the primary concern of both the sheriff and the courts. Vehicles and equipment necessary to transport inmates were in place. However, inmate supervision required some adjustment to the roles, responsibilities, and scheduling of corrections officers and court bailiffs. Court administrators identified and addressed critical paperwork issues to guarantee proper inmate adjudication. An indigent defense attorney worked through the stakeholder group to facilitate both in-person and remote attorney-client privileged communication. Vetting these challenges at committee meetings allowed all stakeholders to participate in creating solutions to benefit all involved.
An accurate inmate population projection was essential to development of a realistic budget for both Ogemaw and Gladwin counties. Fortunately, Ogemaw County jail personnel report reliable inmate incarceration data daily. Based on this data, the original budget assumed an average population of 40 inmates per day. By the end of the fiscal year on September 30, the actual average was 41.7 inmates per day. Roughly six to eight sentenced inmates are housed in Clare and Iosco Counties to ensure capacity for fresh arrests at Gladwin County.
Midway through the fiscal year a new jail administrator and an additional full-time corrections officer were hired. A part-time secretary was also added to help with required clerical duties. The positive impact of these additions was immediate.
Though monumental, changes imposed a year ago had the desired impact on the County’s General Fund budget. The fund balance is projected to grow from a paltry 0.3 percent at the end of fiscal year 2023 to 13.6 percent at the end of FY25. Ogemaw County should find itself within the GFOA’s “best practices” fund balance range by the end of fiscal year 2026. As The “A-Team’s” Col. Hannibal Smith was fond of saying, “I love it when a plan comes together!”
The Michigan Association of County Administrative Officers was formed in July 1959 to assist county administrative officers in improving their ability to serve their respective board of commissioners by: providing means for exchanging knowledge and information regarding common problems; securing guidance and assistance from educational institutions, governmental agencies and professional and other sources in advancement of knowledge, techniques and procedures in public management; and supporting and advancing the application of high ethical standards in management of public business.
*Dolehanty is now the administrator for Gratiot County.