SRP FAQs

Activities for SRP Funded Officers:

1. What activities are generally acceptable for Secondary Road Patrol Funded officers?

The primary activity of SRP officers should be patrolling on secondary roads and enforcing traffic and criminal laws on those roads.  This includes making traffic stops and issuing warnings or citations, investigating crashes, assisting motorists, and responding to violations of criminal laws.  See the questions following for information on specific activities that are acceptable.

2. Is the SRP officer allowed to respond to non-traffic-related complaints?

Deputies may take complaints observed or brought to their attention while patrolling on secondary roads not within the boundaries of cities or villages. 

3. Our dispatch runs the "closest car concept."  How can we avoid being sent to calls on non-secondary roads?

The sheriff department is required to enter into an agreement with other law enforcement agencies that specifies who will handle specific types of calls.  Your department should clarify in this agreement that P.A. 416 of 1978 only allows SRP funded officers to respond to traffic and criminal complaints on secondary roads.   We recommend this information be shared with central dispatch to avoid conflicts.

4. Is it OK to go on non-secondary roads occasionally, and to make traffic stops there?

It is acceptable to travel on non-secondary roads (U.S. and Michigan highways) if it is necessary to get from one secondary road to another in an expedient manner.  If you observe a motorist violating a traffic law while on the non-secondary road, you can stop and issue a citation.  However, you should not be doing stationary enforcement on a non-secondary road or patrolling on one for extensive periods of time.

5. What if I see someone violating a traffic law on a secondary road, and they turn onto a non-secondary road before I stop them?

You can stop them on the non-secondary road.  However, be sure to indicate on the daily log that the offense occurred on a secondary road. 

6. Can I set up to do enforcement at the intersection of a secondary and non-secondary road? 

If most of the violations are occurring on the secondary road, doing enforcement at an intersection such as this would be acceptable.  In that case, the occasional violators from the non-secondary road can also be stopped.  However, if most of the traffic offenses are on the non-secondary roads, and not affecting the secondary roads, this would not be acceptable. 

7. Can I serve as a community instructor on traffic issues?

Yes, this is an allowable activity for SRP funded officers.  We encourage officers to educate the public on traffic issues as an additional method of promoting traffic safety.

8. Can the SRP funded officer do bike or motorcycle patrols?

Motorcycle patrols are acceptable for SRP funded officers.  Bike patrols would only be acceptable in some limited situations; the county must be able to demonstrate that these are effective in education or traffic/criminal enforcement on secondary roads.

9. Can one officer be trained and function exclusively as a crash reconstructionist?

In some larger counties with a large number of officers, this may be an efficient use of officers.  However, the reconstructionist must be investigating crashes primarily on secondary roads and should be utilized for patrol when not needed for crash investigations.

10. Can the SRP funded officer be part of a K-9 team? 

Having a dog is allowable; however, when the team is used for non-SRP activities, those payroll hours should be charged off to another account.  If the dog is used primarily on traffic stops on secondary roads, then K-9 training could be charged to the SRP funding.

11. Should the SRP funded officer be handling abandoned vehicles?

Abandoned vehicles can be marked and reported if discovered while patrolling on secondary roads.  However, the SRP officer should not spend an entire shift tagging abandoned vehicles.

12. Should the SRP funded officer be doing funeral escorts? 

Deputies can do funeral escorts if needed to control traffic on a secondary road.

13.  Should the SRP funded officer be conducting property checks?

Because property checks can be incorporated into the normal patrolling activities on secondary roads, we would consider this an allowable activity. Property location should be noted on the daily. 

14. Can SRP funded officers patrol in cities and villages?

P.A. 416 of 1978 allows an SRP funded officer to patrol within a city or village if the city or village has passed a resolution requesting such services from the sheriff's department.  However, even with a resolution, complaint taking by the officer is not allowed within city or village boundaries.   Copies of such resolutions are required to be submitted to OHSP with the annual report each year. 

15. What information should be included on an SRP funded officer's daily log?

When OHSP reviews the officer's daily logs, we are determining whether the activities engaged in by the deputy or officer are eligible for reimbursement under P.A. 416. of 1978.  Deputies should include locations of patrols (road names of routes traveled) and traffic stops.  Begin and end times should be included for all activity with no gaps in time.  Extra detail can explain activities that may otherwise seem unacceptable for a SRP funded officer, which will help when the program is monitored.  For example, if the deputy must serve a warrant on an individual for a traffic offense that was committed on a secondary road, the deputy should document on his daily log that it was a warrant for a traffic offense committed on secondary roads.

16. What activities are not allowed to be performed by SRP funded officers?

Activities that are not specifically spelled out in P.A. 416 of 1978 Act should not be performed by SRP deputies.  Examples include transporting prisoners, serving documents such as subpoenas, serving as court officer during court proceedings, and performing desk and/or corrections duty. 

Administration/Budgeting:

1. What is Maintenance of Effort?

Maintenance of Effort refers to the number of general road patrol deputies that the county employed immediately before October 1, 1978, or October 1, 2021, whichever year the expenditure or level of road patrol is lower.  The county must continue to retain at least this number of road patrol deputies to be eligible for funding under P.A. 416 of 1978.

2. Who do I count to get my current MOE number?

Count only your county-funded officers whose primary function is road patrol.  Source of funding is not a factor, except for SRP funded officers (do not include them in your count).  Also, do not include DARE officers, detectives, command staff, marine, narcotics, corrections, court officers, etc.

3. Where can I get forms related to the SRP?

Forms (application, agreement, annual report, and quarterly financial report, are only available through the Grants Management System (MGX).

4. What expenses are included in each category on the application for Secondary Road Patrol funds?

Personnel includes wages, overtime, employee benefits, training for deputies, etc. This is the largest share of the budget. Training could be included in the operating category instead of personnel.

Automotive includes gasoline, vehicle maintenance & insurance, lease of vehicles, etc. OR a cost per mile calculation.

Equipment includes purchase of vehicles, laser, radar, video camera, etc.

Operating includes citation books, daily record forms, uniform allowances, radio contracts, training, etc.

5. What is a county supplement and how does it affect the allowable activities that can be performed by an SRP funded officer?

Each county is given a percentage of the entire SRP budget at the beginning of the fiscal year.  The state will reimburse them up to this amount, based on their actual expenses.  Some counties choose to add to the program by spending their own funds to supplement the amount received from the state.  This is called a county supplement.  This allows reporting to reflect the true amount actually being spent on the county's secondary road patrol program.  Note that a county supplement is not the same as county funded.  County-funded refers to non-SRP activities funded by the county. Allowable activities that can be performed are not affected by adding a county supplement to support the SRP program. 

6. Are there any rules on how a county accounts for its SRP expenses?

Yes.  The county is required to have separate accounts set up to track its SRP expenses in the accounting records (general ledger).  This is reviewed during the monitoring process.  The general ledger must equal the amounts reported to OHSP for reimbursement.

7. Can the county switch SRP funded officers during the year?  

Yes.  Although some counties indicate the name of their SRP officer on the grant application, this is not a requirement.  As long as the county keeps good records of who is being funded by the SRP funds, accounts for those wages in a separate fund, and keeps separate dailies, they can switch officers as needed during the year. 

8. Can SRP funded officers be paid overtime through the grant? 

Yes, however, the amount of overtime paid should be reasonable when compared to the total regular wages.  The personnel payments made through the grant should not be exclusively or primarily for overtime.

10. Can non-SRP funded officers be used for overtime on secondary roads or to fill in for regular SRP deputies and be paid through the grant?

Non-SRP officers can be paid overtime from SRP funds, with the same restrictions as overtime for SRP funded officers, and can fill in for regular SRP officers, as long as they are patrolling on secondary roads during the time they are being paid.  Their wages must be shown in the SRP fund in the accounting records, and they must keep a separate daily for the time spent on secondary road patrol. 

11. Can the county have officers who are only partially funded by the grant?

Yes, they can have officers whose wages are split between SRP and county funds.  If this is done, the SRP funded portion of the wages must still be accounted for separately.  One daily can still be maintained but should clearly show where activity is taking place.  The amount of activity must be at least as much as the percentage charged to the SRP fund.  For example, if 50 percent of wages and benefits are charged to SRP, at least 50 percent of activities must be SRP-related.  This method is primarily of benefit to counties with a large area to cover and few SRP officers, or for cases where a county's funding allocation provides for an uneven number of officers.  If an officer is split between SRP and non-SRP activity, all other costs related to that officer should also be prorated to the same percentage, such as miles driven, equipment, uniform allowance, benefits, etc. Statistics reported for partially funded officers should also be prorated.

13. How should automotive costs be reported?  What rate is acceptable if basing on cost per mile driven?

Automotive expenses can be reimbursed based either on the actual costs incurred for vehicles, gasoline, maintenance, insurance, and other vehicle costs, or the county can be reimbursed based on actual miles driven times a mileage rate.  If the county chooses to use miles driven, they can either use the most recently published IRS rate, in which case no further calculation is required, or they can calculate their own mileage rate.  This is done by totaling actual costs for the prior year and dividing by miles driven for that year.  Supporting documentation of the calculation must be kept on file for review during a monitoring.  Note: If using a mileage rate that includes an allowance for depreciation of the vehicle (including the IRS rate), expense for vehicle purchase/lease cannot also be claimed for reimbursement.  If a county chooses to use the cost per miles driven method, the general ledger must reflect that.

14. Can training and continuing education be paid for with SRP funds?

Yes, we encourage officers to take training and continuing education courses.  The training should primarily be related to the officer's secondary road patrol duties, but can include general courses, such as weapons training, that are a necessary part of an officer's overall preparation for duty.

Monitoring:

1. What is monitoring?

 Monitoring is a review of a county's records to determine compliance with P.A. 416, of 1978.  It is similar to an audit, but not as extensive or as long.

2. How are counties chosen for monitoring?

Counties are chosen based on the length of time since the prior monitoring, whether problems were encountered in previous monitoring, and a few by random selection. 

3. How often are counties monitored? 

We try to monitor each county at least every four years, but some may be reviewed more frequently if they have had previous problems or if they happen to be chosen by random selection.

4. What areas are reviewed during a monitoring and what documentation is required?

Up to three areas are reviewed:  maintenance of effort, financial, and program activities.   We review duty rosters and schedules to determine whether maintenance of effort requirements are being met.  We review the financial records (general ledger, payroll records, time sheets, mileage records, receipts, etc.) to determine whether the amounts requested for reimbursement on the quarterly financial reports are accurate.  As part of the financial review, we also check to see the county is accounting for its SRP expenses in a separate account.  We review the officer's daily logs to determine whether the program activity requirements are being met. 

5. How long do I need to keep records?

You should keep the records for three years after the end of the state's fiscal year.  The state's fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30.

6. How long does the monitoring take?  How much advance warning will I have?  Who needs to be available for the monitoring?

On-site monitoring may take 5-6 hours, depending on the size of the county and the organization and completeness of the records.  We try to schedule a monitoring at least two weeks in advance and work with the county's schedule as much as possible.  The person primarily in charge of the program should plan to meet with the reviewer initially, and should remain available for questions throughout the day, but they do not have to stay with the reviewer the entire time.  In some cases, depending on how the records are kept, the county's accounting personnel will need to be available for the financial part of the review.  Some counties also choose to have their SRP deputy available to answer questions related to the dailies, but this is not essential if the administrative person is able to provide sufficient interpretation of the activities.

Counties may be selected for a desk audit.  For this type of audit counties will be asked to submit records to OHSP for review.

7. How long does it take to get the report following a monitoring?

The report is usually issued within 30-60 days.  At some times of year, it may take a little longer.  You will have a good idea of the content of the report from the exit interview at the end of the monitoring (assuming you were available at that time).

8. If I'm found out of compliance with program requirements, what is the procedure?

OHSP will notify the sheriff in writing and will ask for a written corrective action plan to be submitted.  OHSP will respond back in writing to advise whether the plan is acceptable.  In most cases, possible remedies to problems will have been discussed at the exit interview.  We then return in a few months to see if problems have been corrected.  Payback of funds could be required if it is determined that reimbursements were received by the county for any non-SRP related costs.

9. What happens if my program continues to be found out of compliance?

Continued non-compliance with Act SRP or the Contract Conditions is grounds for the withholding and/or termination of funding. 

For more information, contact OHSP at 517-284-3121 or MSP-SRP@Michigan.gov.