Scott Rutter will take the reins as sheriff after winning the November election, and he has chosen Detective Lt. Scott Metras to succeed him as undersheriff.

Rutter has more than 18 years of experience at the sheriff’s department, working part-time as a corrections officer for several months in 1996 and full-time with the road patrol division starting in 1998 before being promoted to road patrol lieutenant in 2005 and undersheriff in 2009.

Metras has been with the department for 26.5 years — 13.5 years as a road patrol deputy, one year as road patrol lieutenant, and the past 12 years as a detective lieutenant coordinating the KIND Drug Team and Critical Incident Response Team.

“He’s worked his way through the ranks, has a knowledge of the office, shows leadership and work ethic, and has the ability to talk with people and listen and understand,” Rutter said of tapping Metras as undersheriff.

NEW DICKINSON COUNTY Sheriff Scott Rutter, at left, stands with outgoing Sheriff Scott Celello. (Theresa Proudfit/Daily News photo)

“We were both hired by (former Dickinson County Sheriff) Don Charlevoix, who had a good relationship with the community,” Metras said. “Sheriff Rutter will strive to do the same.”

One way the new sheriff hopes to stay in touch with residents is through a mobile device app, scheduled to roll out within the next month, that will connect with the department’s Facebook page and “push out” more information directly to the public.

For example, if there’s an accident at the U.S. 141-Breitung Cutoff Road intersection, the app could advise followers to avoid the area, Rutter said. Residents also could be notified about severe weather, Amber Alerts for missing children or road closures, or could use the app to give feedback or thank an officer, Rutter said.

As for other immediate changes, some shifting could happen within the department as Rutter looks to fill Metras’ former position.

Looking long-term, Rutter hopes to evaluate current sheriff programs to see if they can be improved, work with judges on court security, look for ways to address mental health issues so patients don’t end up in jail unnecessarily, create a volunteer victim advocacy group and continue community outreach efforts.

NEW DICKINSON COUNTY Sheriff Scott Rutter is sworn in Wednesday by Judge Richard J. Celello in the 41st Circuit Court. (Theresa Proudfit/Daily News photo)

“We’ve always had a history of making ourselves available to the public,” Rutter said. “We want people to stop in if they have concerns.”

Rutter recently completed a two-week training program in Lansing designed for newly elected sheriffs. Current and retired sheriffs served as mentors on handling the role of sheriff and undersheriff, secondary road patrol, corrections, crime victims’ rights, mental health, preparing a budget, media relations, internal investigations and line-of-duty deaths.

In general, the sheriff has administrative duties such as preparing budgets, attending meetings with other community leaders, and overseeing the department’s activities, Rutter explained, while the undersheriff is more “hands-on” by reviewing deputies’ reports, interacting with the media and monitoring day-to-day operations of the central dispatch center.

“We all truly work together,” Metras said, pointing out the sheriff’s department manages road patrol, the Dickinson County Jail and the central dispatch center with a chain-of-command in each area — from deputies, corrections officers and dispatchers to the lieutenants to the undersheriff to the sheriff.