Sheriff’s office wins approval for two sergeant positions; corrections and sheriff reports presented

The Public Safety Committee approved creation of two additional sergeant positions in the sheriff’s office, a staffing change officials said was included in the 2020 budget to address supervisory shortfalls caused by expanding administrative responsibilities.

Sheriff Arteta told the committee the office’s workload has grown because of “unfunded mandates” and new discovery requirements that require a dedicated unit. “We don’t have any supervision or enough supervision to cover all these different units and components that we have in the office,” he said, explaining the budget request for two sergeants.

The committee moved and seconded the request and approved it by voice vote.

Committee members then received the corrections report. Colonel Catletti reported a facility headcount of 309 and an ICE population of 66; the report noted December revenue of $4,254,244. Committee members asked whether ICE had contacted the county about future housing needs; officials said such discussions were not public and that the facility has capacity to accept additional detainees if needed.

Sheriff’s office reports also highlighted a canine-unit graduation in which five teams were certified (including teams from Middletown, Blooming Grove and Newburgh), and a commercial vehicle enforcement (CVE) report summarizing enforcement actions and safety details conducted in coordination with the Department of Transportation and municipal agencies. Deputy Lucien was identified as the Building Bridges program coordinator and a point person for expansion.

Committee members did not take votes on the reports but thanked staff for the updates.