Bloated? Wayne County Sheriff Has 41 Appointees, 39 More than Oakland

All you have to do is look at Oakland and Macomb counties to realize Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon has a heck of a lot of appointees.

John Wisely of the Detroit Free Press reports that Napoleon has 41 appointees compared to the sheriffs in Oakland and Macomb, who have two each.

Of the 41 appointees, 16 make $100,000 or more, the Freep reported. The County Commission wants to cut 10 to save $800,000.
Undersheriff Daniel Phannes told the Freep his boss is willing to look at any proposal to make the office run more efficiently.
The Freep pointed out that last week that Napoleon said he might have to release hundreds of prisoners because of budget constraints.

Up until now, the focus in the county has been on County Executive Bob Ficanco’s appointees, some of whom have been indicted or are under investigation.

Just how much legs a story like this has is unclear.

Napoleon is up for re-election this fall and is expected to easily win. But he’s also been mentioned as a contender for Detroit mayor next year, and any sign of scandal or poor management could be a problem, particularly if he ends up running against Mike Duggan.  -- A.L.