| JAIL EXPANSION APPROVED; CONSTRUCTION POSSIBLE IN 2006 Tompkins County has formally included in its capital plan a renovation and expansion project at the Public Safety Building on Warren Road. By a vote of 11 to 4, the County Legislature committed to continue with the design of an estimated $19.9 million project with a tentative construction start in 2006. If built, the project will include needed renovations to the Sheriff's office and road patrol headquarters at the building. It will also add cell space to arrive at a maximum inmate capacity of 136. The New York State Commission on Correction, which oversees all county jails in the state, has told Tompkins County that it will approve nothing less than a 136-bed facility. Without a commitment from the County for the project, Commission has said that variances that have allowed the jail to house up to 103 inmates will be cancelled. Without the variances, the inmate capacity would drop to 73 and the County would need to board out additional prisoners to other counties' jails. The variances were to have expired today. Public Safety Committee Chair Barbara Blanchard said she feels, based on her communications with the Commission, that it will extend the variances through the design period. Legislature Chair Tim Joseph supported the decision as a way to avoid a confrontation with the State, while noting that in the five years since the County invested in new alternatives to incarceration programs, the jail population has decreased. Martha Robertson passed out a graph that showed that the inmate population has averaged 65 in the first half of this year, the lowest average since 1995. Blanchard noted that the Public Safety Building project does not imply less funding or commitment to alternatives to incarceration programs. County Administrator Steve Whicher estimated the addition of the Public Safety Building project to the capital plan will double the County's annual debt service payments, from the current level of about $2.5 million to about $5 million, and that the project will require a tax levy increase of about 8 percent. There will be no added cost in 2005. The exact debt service schedule will be discussed by the County's Expanded Budget Committee in its budget review meetings this month. The project will require an estimated five new corrections staff for the jail and one additional maintenance staff person. The County will spend the next year finalizing the design. The Legislature will then decide whether to go forward into the construction phase. Voting in favor of the Public Safety Building renovation and expansion were: Barbara Blanchard, Tim Joseph, Dooley Kiefer, Michael Koplinka-Loehr, Michael Lane, Peter Penniman, Frank Proto, Martha Robertson, George Totman, Thomas Todd, and Daniel Winch. Opposed were Dick Booth, Kathy Luz Herrera, Leslyn McBean-Clairborne, and Nancy Schuler. Contacts: Barbara Blanchard, Chair, Public Safety Committee; County Administrator Stephen Whicher, 274-5551; David Squires, Finance Director, 274-5545. COUNTY CALLS ON STATE FOR MANDATE RELIEF The Legislature unanimously passed a resolution calling on the State government to put a cap on the local share of Medicaid costs and to fully fund any new mandates (required services) that may be initiated by the State. The higher cost of mandates, especially the local cost of Medicaid services, has been a major cause of increased County property taxes in recent years. The resolution originated from the group Pushback and has been forwarded to every other county in the state with a recommendation for passage. Contact: Tim Joseph, Chair of the Legislature, 277-2519. SEARCH RE-OPENED FOR MENTAL HEALTH COMMISSIONER County Administrator Steve Whicher announced that the County will resume its search for a new County Mental Health Commissioner. Longtime Commissioner Anthony (Bart) DeLuca resigned earlier this year. Robert DeLuca, no relation, is currently serving as interim commissioner. Contact: Stephen Whicher, County Administrator, 274-5551. DEWITT REAPPOINTED DEMOCRATIC ELECTION COMMISSIONER By unanimous vote, Stephen Dewitt was reappointed to the post of Democratic election commissioner, for a second two-year term starting January 1, 2005. The Board of Elections has two Commissioners, one Democrat and one Republican. The Republican Commissioner is Elizabeth Cree. Contact: Dooley Kiefer, Chair, Consumer and Community Affairs Committee, 257-7453. HEARING SET FOR MEETING ATTENDANCE RULE The Legislature approved a hearing for a charter change that deals with the issue of non-attendance at advisory boards and other public bodies. The amendment states that, if an official appointed by the Legislature to a board, commission, committee, or authority fails to attend four consecutive meetings without good cause, that person's seat may be considered vacant. The hearing will be held Tuesday, October 5, at 5:30 p.m. in the County Courthouse. Contact: Michael Lane, Chair, Government Operations Committee, 844-8444. |