Michigan State Police Commander James Grady is joining a chorus of state agency heads blasting the proposed Republican state budget, passed recently in the House and under debate in the Senate. Grady suggested the budget, as drawn, could be devastating to several MSP areas of operation.
Here is the full text of Colonel Grady’s statement:
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The FY26 state budget passed by the Michigan House of Representatives in August would severely impact the services of the Michigan State Police (MSP) in multiple ways, including:
- Post Operations: A reduction of $40.2 million and 297.5 FTEs in Post Operations would leave the department with insufficient funding to run trooper recruit schools and would require the department to look at options for reducing expenditures, including cutting trooper overtime, implementing vehicle and mileage restrictions, and enacting potential layoffs from the trooper recruit school that will graduate in November, all of which would result in less troopers patrolling our state to keep Michiganders safe.
- Departmentwide: A reduction to the Departmentwide line item of $4.3 million would reduce funding for vehicles, fuel, maintenance, and facilities, further impacting our ability to carry out our public safety mission across the state.
- Secure Cities Partnership: Removal of funding for the Secure Cities Partnership would eliminate trooper assignment to high-crime areas, dedicated crime data analytics and aviation support to cities around the state experiencing violent crime.
- Training Operations: Elimination of the Professional Development Bureau and a reduction of $520,000 and 4 FTEs to Training Operations would significantly limit the department’s ability to recruit, develop, train and retain enlisted and civilian members.
- Various reductions: A reduction of more than $4.5 million and 36 FTEs across various line items will inhibit the department’s ability to provide community outreach and grant support, provide timely responses to FOIA requests and media inquiries, maintain communications equipment within patrol vehicles, and provide adequate leadership guidance to our members.
In essence, the House budget makes millions of dollars in cuts that will have a real impact on public safety in Michigan and in the MSP’s ability to provide important police services that keep people safe. At a time when law enforcement needs more support in terms of personnel and training, this budget takes a major step backward in defunding these priorities. As budget negotiations continue, I hope they will reconsider their position and make public safety a priority.
–Col. James F. Grady II, Commander, Michigan State Police
