MACON, Ga. — Macon-Bibb commissioners will vote on a possible funding shift for the Bibb County Sheriff's Office and Macon-Bibb Fire Department as soon as Tuesday.
Right now, the sheriff's office is a hundred deputies short. The fire department says they need about 72 more firefighters.
"That means I'm running at a bare minimum on every truck," said Battalion Chief Todd Alligood.
Both departments have been forced to ask employees to work overtime, but that overtime adds up. This is why Sheriff David Davis is asking to reallocate $845,000. Chief Marvin Riggins is looking for $1,050,000.
"I start every day 14 firefighters short," said Alligood.
Alligood says he usually operates at 71 firefighters. Now, the battalion runs with 57.
"So the only times I can fill a truck most days is calling back two, three, four guys a day," Alligood said.
For the sheriff's office, overtime is just as crucial. Deputies can work up to 24 hours extra every two weeks.
"Some of them may work a little more. Some of them can certainly work less. Some of them don't work any overtime. That's just their personal preference," said Sheriff David Davis.
Davis says their shortages became clear around 2017.
"We're losing our folks to local folks... local agencies surrounding us," Davis said. "In my experience with the sheriff's office over the years, that's really unheard of."
Before, if their deputies left, they would move on to larger metro counties or state agencies -- not local ones. Just this week, Bibb County lost one of their deputies to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
Davis says if the commission votes to reallocate the funding, it will primarily go towards the Patrol Division, then Corrections and the Criminal Investigations Unit.
"It's all hands on deck. People working from different divisions come in and help out patrol," Davis said.
If the commission approves, the money the departments are requesting is already within each of their budgets. This would not come out of the general fund.
The county's Operations and Finance Committee approved the move last Tuesday. Now, it will move onto a full vote by the entire commission this week.
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