Calhoun County Sheriff Steve Hinkley is waving a red flag over pressure to keep the Starr Commonwealth safe. Hinkley says his agency is facing a crisis. It is a critical problem when the federal government signs a contract with Starr to house migrant children who have found their way across the country’s southern border. Sheriff Hinkley telephones a subcommittee of the Homeland Security Committee to testify about the situation.
Sheriff Hinkley answered a question from senior committee member, District 3 Congressman Peter Meijer of Grand Rapids. Hinkley comments, “Starr Commonwealth first asked for a community service officer to be on campus and hooked up. Then they found out there was absolutely no funding for it.”
The sheriff went on with the implication that local services must be kept up via the addition of the federal government trying to impose a greater workload without offering to pay for it. The sheriff says, “It was very, very unexpected. If we had to do that all over again, I would have preferred this conversation for a month so we could make plans and, like federal laws, interact with state laws to make sure everything was taken care of. It just didn’t happen. It was very unexpected and when you are in the middle of a budget cycle for your own department and are asked to provide more services without the resources to do so […] There is a crisis here at our agency trying to make sure all needs are met. “
Hinkley’s comments confirm concerns previously expressed by Calhoun County Board Chairman Steve Frizbee that the federal government has urged local government units to provide services to support migrant shelters but not provide financial assistance. That said, Frisbee endangers services that are needed to support local residents’ lives.