STATE PANEL TELLS COUNTY: JAIL NEEDS TO BE BIGGER
The State Commission of Corrections has renewed Tompkins County’s jail
variances for another six months but at the same time instructed the County
that it needs to build a bigger jail. Board Chair Tim Joseph, Sheriff Peter
Meskill, County Administrator Stephen Whicher, and others met with the
three- member state panel earlier today in Albany. While commending the
County for its efforts to reduce its jail population through various Alternatives
to Incarceration programs, the Commission made it clear that it feels more
jail cells will be necessary, said Joseph. The temporary variances allow
the jail to house up to 103 inmates. Without the variances, the legal limit
for inmate population at the Warren Road facility is 72. In recent years,
the population has frequently exceeded that limit by as much as 30 percent.
The Public Safety Building Planning Committee will begin looking at options
for expanding the 15-year-old building or otherwise solving the overcrowding
problem, said Joseph, the committee chair. The County must report to the
Commission in six months with a progress report on movement toward construction.
Contacts: Tim Joseph, 274-5434, 277-2519: Sheriff Peter Meskill, 257-1345.
LAG IN STATE AID PROMPTS COUNTY TO APPROVE TCAT ADVANCE
The Board gave unanimous approval to a measure that will advance cash
from the County’s general fund to Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT)
to cover delays in state funding. TCAT is the consolidated mass transit
system formed in 1999 when bus services operated by the City of Ithaca,
Cornell University, and Tompkins County were combined. The timing of State
Transit Operating Assistance (STOA) funding has caused delays in TCAT payments
to its partners. Under the new system, the County will cover the gap and
then be reimbursed when the state funding is received. The advance is not
to exceed $2 million, and any revenue lost from unearned interest payments
will be repaid to the County by TCAT. Contact: Peter Penniman, Budget Committee
Chair, 387-5897.
PROTO LEADS PROTEST AGAINST QUADRUPLED FEE
A member resolution introduced by Rep. Frank Proto to protest New York
State’s plans to quadruple County Clerk fees received the Board’s unanimous
approval. Proto reported that Governor Pataki has proposed shifting a group
of offices, including the state Archives Department, from the state Education
Department to a new Institute for Cultural Education. To fund the project,
it has been proposed to increase the fees County Clerks are required to
collect for filing documents from the current $5 to $20 per document. The
change in the state departmental structure is of no benefit to local governments
or residents, Proto said. Contact: Frank Proto, 277-4875.
ULYSSES SUPERVISOR CONTINUES COUNTY/TOWN DIALOG
Town of Ulysses Supervisor Douglas Austic, addressing the Board during
the regular time set aside for town elected officials to speak, proposed
that towns do minor road repairs – such as fixing potholes – on County
roads within town boundaries. Austic also requested that the County go
through municipalities’ siting process for structures such as communications
towers. Board Chair Tim Joseph replied that the County is interested in
a cooperative relationship with the towns and villages that avoids lawsuits.
Contact: Douglas Austic, 387-5676.
BOARD HONORS MARGARET HARDING
The Board unanimously passed a resolution of respect honoring community
member Margaret Harding, who recently died. Harding was a former director
of the County Office for the Aging, Ithaca City School Board member, was
instrumental in founding Gadabout, and was a longtime advocate for senior
citizens in Tompkins County.
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