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Sullivan County committee to send letter urging state action as state inmates fill county jail
Summary
Committee members heard that Sullivan County is holding 34 people in the county jail, 20 of whom are state inmates the county says the state is not taking back; the committee voted to send a letter urging state action and fair compensation.
SULLIVAN COUNTY, N.Y. — County officials said Sullivan County’s jail held 34 people, including 20 the county identified as belonging to the state of New York, and the Public Safety Committee voted to send a letter urging the state to address the issue and to provide adequate compensation.
A jail official (identified in the meeting as Hal) told the committee the state has refused to take custody of those state cases and that sheriffs across New York had written a joint letter asking the state to act. “Right now, we have 34 incarcerated individuals in the jail. 20 of them belong to the state of New York. The state of New York is refusing to take them because of the issues they created themselves,” the jail official said.
The official described hiring and training steps the county is taking: since Jan. 1 the county has hired 14 new correction officers (nine of whom had been state employees or former state employees), started an on-site eight-week academy, and was processing five new candidates through psychological exams and psychiatric review. The official said the county has about eight current openings in the jail, which would climb to about 11 when planned promotions were accounted for, and said 34 people were taking a civil service exam this month.
Committee members discussed costs to the county. The official said the state is paying $100 per day per person for state-sent inmates, a figure committee members called insufficient compared with local costs. “I can guarantee you it's costing us, the taxpayers, a lot more than a hundred dollars a day,” the official said.
Committee members agreed to prepare and send their own letter — modeled on letters circulated by the New York State Sheriffs’ Association — asking for state action or better compensation. The motion to prepare the letter was seconded and passed by voice vote.
Committee members said they would document the county’s costs and continue hiring and training to address staffing needs; they asked the county communication director to assist with the letter.
