KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — It’s widely known that employers are having trouble filling jobs ever since the pandemic altered life and businesses in a major way. But some jobs were tough to fill even before COVID-19, including law enforcement.
Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller says between low salaries, limited funds for recruitment, and retirees leaving early, he is having trouble staffing to patrol county roads. He says there was a time when hundreds would compete for just a handful of these types of jobs, but times have changed. Another issue is it’s just not as popular of a career as it once was.
Fuller says without higher salaries, signing bonuses, and free tuition to police academies, they can’t compete. He is asking the Kalamazoo County Administration for more funding in the next budget cycle.
Meanwhile, the Administrator of Kalamazoo’s County Courts says there is a “crisis” at the Juvenile home because they can’t compete with the private sector for the staff they need to operate the place. Chad Kewish says they have state standards they have to meet, and for the past year, they have had to use double shifts and other measures to stay in compliance.
He says he has 8 full-time and 6 on-call positions he cannot fill and that morale is low, which can result in liability and safety problems.
Starting salaries there are among the lowest in the state, barely above a living wage. The County is currently having a study done to adjust salaries for all employees, but that could take up to a year. Kewish says they can’t wait that long.
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