Board accepts $90,000 donation for sheriff’s motor unit and approves pilot for 30 pool positions to reduce forced overtime

The Oakland County Board of Commissioners accepted a $90,000 donation dedicated to the sheriff’s motor unit and approved a two‑part staffing request from the sheriff’s office, including a pilot of 30 flexible positions intended to reduce forced overtime.

A sheriff’s office representative said the Fuoco Foundation donation of $90,000 will fund two motorcycles and specialized motor‑unit uniforms as part of a department uniform transition. “This 1 is $90,000 for the sheriff's office. So we'll be purchasing 2 motorcycles, and then some specialized uniforms,” the representative said.

The sheriff’s office also asked to pilot 30 'pool' positions to address an overtime burden caused by training, extended leaves and hospital watches. Fiscal staff said the county had recorded the equivalent of about 96,000 overtime hours — roughly 46 full‑time equivalents — and argued hiring targeted positions could be less expensive than ongoing mandatory overtime. The pilot would run through the end of fiscal year 2027 for evaluation.

Commissioners asked for more detailed overtime breakdowns and metrics to measure savings; fiscal staff and the sheriff’s team said they can provide overtime reports by division and regular staffing metrics. The board approved acceptance of the donation and the staffing requests by voice vote (5 yeas, 0 nays).