Grand Haven, Mich. (WZZM) - 104 state troopers are without jobs after budget cuts forced their layoffs.
In West Michigan 17 troopers were cut.
Most layoffs occurred in Newaygo where 4 troopers were let go. Grand Haven, Lakeview and Wayland lost 3. Two were laid off in Hart and Ionia.
The Rockford and Reed City posts did not see any cuts because they did not receive any hires in December.
Those laid off had only been on the job seven months. Now commanders are forced to make do with less.
Monday was the first business day an economic storm forced three Grand Haven State troopers from coming to work.
"There's really no adjustment," says Sergeant Rich Goragac. "We just continue to do more with less."
Goragac helped train the troopers hired in December. They just finished their field training and were ready to hit the roads alone.
"We can't fill those positions, we can't do much with the schedule, just continue and try to do the best you can," says Goragac.
Less than a mile from the post, Trooper John Forner pulled over a driver for doing 69 in a 55.
While issuing a warning, he's got another for us: public safety has been jeopardized.
"Longer response times, not as many troopers on the road during a shift," he says. "You throw in the fact that we're short three guys, and we have mileage restrictions which limits the amount of general driving we can do it's going to have a big impact."
An impact caused by 100 troopers permanently off duty.
Members of the Troopers Association voted down taking furloughs to save jobs.
"Whether you lay off 100 troopers or take furlough days you're taking troopers off the street," says sixth district representative Scott Wilbur.
Some are angry about the outcome, saying furloughs still would have saved jobs. But rumors have it layoffs would have happened anyway.
"October 1st is a new fiscal year and we're being told the numbers are looking worse," says Wilbur, also a trooper for the Rockford Post.
Wilbur also thinks many troopers feel as if they've given enough.
"The reason the troopers were looking down at the furloughs, you're talking to the group of people who two years ago wrote a check for $400,000 to save 29 troopers jobs," he says. "You're also talking to group that prior to writing a $400,000 check we worked 80 hours and got paid for 76 and we did that for two years."
With bad budgets many also don't understand the construction of a brand new state police headquarters in Lansing.
Legislators say the money was already allocated and can't be moved. Locally, that doesn't seem to be a justification.
"Troopers that I've talked to don't understand," says Wilbur.
There is a chance a federal grant could be awarded to bring troopers back to work.
State Police leaders and senate members went to Washington asking for that in early June.
Back at the Grand Haven post troopers still working say they'll cope with the loss of colleagues, even more importantly, friends.
"Anytime you're in a car with someone for 8, 10 or 12 hours at a time, you're going to learn all kinds of things about them," says Forner.
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