Committee approves sheriff’s contracts, grants and training subscriptions; Securitas sole-vendor motion withdrawn

The Warren County committee approved several Sheriff’s Office requests including a revised School Resource Officer (SRO) agreement, an intermunicipal agreement with the Lake George Park Commission for routine vessel service and fuel purchases, multiple Homeland Security and Byrne grant transfers and an annual training-subscription contract with Lexipol.

Key approvals and votes

- SRO agreement: The committee approved the amended SRO agreement with Luzerne Central School District. The school will pay the SRO more for the school year; Sheriff’s staff said there will be no expense to the county. Motion passed by voice vote.

- Lake George Park Commission agreement: The committee approved entering an intermunicipal agreement for routine service, emergency repairs, replacement parts and fuel purchase options for Sheriff’s patrol vessels. The agreement provides options depending on park-commission fuel availability and is intended to reduce costs. A motion to add two one-year automatic renewal options upon mutual agreement was discussed and accepted.

- Grants and budget transfers: The committee approved submissions and revenue-increase resolutions related to New York State Division of Homeland Security grants and Edward Byrne Memorial grants that will fund communications upgrades, phone-system replacement (end-of-life Vesta system), and a records-management replacement for police (a large procurement). Several items are transfers of prior-year grant balances (2019–2024) into 2025 so funds can be used this year.

- Lexipol subscription: The committee approved an annual subscription with Lexipol to provide Police1 Academy and Corrections1 Academy online training content. Sheriff’s staff said the subscription costs about $11,000 per year to cover roughly 200 employees.

- Security-systems vendor motion withdrawn: A resolution to designate Securitas Technology Corporation as the exclusive vendor for correctional-facility security-systems maintenance and service was withdrawn after committee members noted the annual amount fell within department-head contracting authority and could be handled administratively. The sheriff’s office withdrew the motion to avoid duplication of effort and to allow the office to execute the necessary contracts directly.

Why it matters: Approved grants fund replacements for end-of-life systems (phone and records management) and training subscriptions. The SRO agreement clarifies that the school will cover the increased SRO compensation. The Lake George agreement preserves options for fuel and vessel maintenance and aims to contain operating costs.

Speakers and clarifications

Sheriff’s staff presented the requests and answered clarifying questions about prior-year amendments, contract terms and operational impacts. Committee members asked that the Lake George agreement allow multi-year renewals by mutual agreement to reduce annual administrative burden. The sheriff reported the county correctional facility population at roughly 96–100 and said correctional recruiting and retention have improved recently; overtime expenditures are lower compared with the prior year, according to the sheriff’s report.

Votes and formal actions

- Motion: Approve amended Luzerne Central School District SRO agreement (school to pay SRO increase; no county expense). Outcome: approved.

- Motion: Enter intermunicipal agreement with Lake George Park Commission for vessel service, repairs and fuel purchase options, with amendment to allow up to two additional one-year terms by mutual agreement. Outcome: approved.

- Motion: Approve Lexipol annual subscription (Police1/Corrections1 Academy trainings) ~ $11,000/year. Outcome: approved.

- Motion: Approve grant revenue adjustments and transfers (Homeland Security and Edward Byrne grants; records-management replacement and communications upgrades). Outcome: approved.

- Motion: Withdraw sole-vendor resolution to name Securitas Technology as exclusive vendor for corrections security systems; sheriff to process under department-head authority where applicable. Outcome: withdrawn.

Clarifying details

- Luzerne Central School SRO compensation: school will pay $100,000 for the school year (no county expense indicated in packet). - Lexipol subscription cost: approximately $11,000 annually to license training for roughly 200 employees (Sheriff’s Office estimate). - Correctional facility population: about 96–100 inmates reported by the sheriff; overtime for corrections reduced from prior-year monthly totals (examples provided: ~ $90,000 in Jan 2024 vs ~$54,000 in Jan 2025; February estimates were lower than the prior year as well).

Ending

Committee members approved the sheriff’s package of routine contracts, grants and training subscriptions; the sheriff withdrew the sole-vendor resolution and will proceed under department-head authority for smaller-value maintenance/service contracts where applicable.