County board OKs police contract with Hesperia

County board OKs police contract with Hesperia

By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor

HESPERIA — It has been years since the Village of Hesperia has had a police force, so Oceana County sheriff’s deputies step in to provide protection.

The Oceana County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a one-year contract renewal with the village to continue providing police patrols. The board took action during its regular meeting Thursday, Feb. 8.

The agreement includes 48-hour-a-week coverage by Oceana County deputies. The contract states that the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office “works in cooperation with the Newaygo County Sheriff’s Office to ensure a duplication of services does not occur.” The village is uniquely situated in both counties.

The village wants one deputy patrolling at a time, the contract states, and it pays the county $65 per hour for the service.

Last month, the board approved similar contracts with the Village of Walkerville and Grant Township to provide additional patrol hours from the sheriff’s office. 

“Deputies can sign up to work on their days off in these different jurisdictions and make overtime money when they are available to,” said Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast.

“The Hesperia Police Department is currently suspended. Their MCOLS (Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards) license is suspended, because they do not have any staff,” said the sheriff.

Walkerville still has a small police department, but lacks staff. “It’s been very, very difficult for them to have patrol hours out there. The village thought that it would be more productive to contract with us.”

The board entered into previous contracts with Hesperia in 2022 and 2023.

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Please consider helping to fund local news. Mason County Press and Oceana County Press are available for free thanks to the generous support of our advertisers and individuals. Three ways to help us: Venmo: @MasonCountyPress; Paypal: MasonCountyPress@gmail.com; Mail a check to PO BOX 21, Scottville, MI 49454.

This story is copyrighted © 2024, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.