Oakland County approves one‑year sheriff pilot to add 30 positions to curb forced overtime

Oakland County commissioners approved a one‑year pilot program to add 30 full‑time positions to the sheriff’s office with the stated goal of reducing forced overtime and employee burnout.

The sheriff (speaking without name identification in the transcript) said recruiting has improved but retention challenges and frequent forced overtime remain—particularly in corrections—where last year the office logged roughly 96,000 overtime hours (equivalent to about 46 full‑time positions), including about 36,000 hours of forced overtime that staff did not volunteer for. Fiscal staff (Brent Straw) explained that many of the positions being converted or added are tied to memoranda of understanding for services (for example, deputies assigned to Parks) and some part‑time positions would be upgraded to 1,000‑hour roles per MOUs; the sheriff’s office also seeks a flexible pool of hires (deputy‑level classifications across dispatch, corrections and road) to be deployed where needed.

Staff said the pilot is sunsetted to the end of fiscal 2027 to allow a year for hiring and training (hiring and training timelines were discussed as reasons for the pilot length). The fiscal presentation estimated forced overtime cost and noted that forced overtime is paid at higher premium rates; county fiscal staff said the goal is to achieve net‑neutral budgetary impact over time by reducing overtime costs while improving workforce reliability and morale.

Commissioners asked for data breakdowns on where overtime occurs (corrections, dispatch, road) and an interim report; staff said corrections accounted for a large share. The board approved the pilot (vote recorded as unanimous in the meeting transcript). The pilot includes sunset provisions and reporting requirements to let the board assess whether positions reduce forced overtime as expected.