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Putnam County legislators press Sheriff to quantify cost of co‑responder mental‑health deputy
Summary
Putnam County officials discussed sustaining the Co‑Responder Team after a grant extension, with county social‑services and law‑enforcement leaders warning the deputy role is currently unpaid and that road‑patrol vacancies are increasing overtime costs. Legislators asked the Sheriff to report fiscal impacts and flagged recent coroner data showing four suicides this year.
Putnam County legislative members pressed the Sheriff’s Office on Nov. 12 to provide precise fiscal numbers for maintaining a deputy assigned to the Co‑Responder Team (CRT), a program pairing a mental‑health clinician with a sheriff’s deputy to respond to behavioral‑health calls.
Commissioner of the Department of Social Services Sara Servadio said the CRT is operating under a six‑month grant extension and that the program — a clinician partnered with a deputy — has been in place for about two years. She said the team logged “about 1,200 unduplicated engagements” last year, a volume she and legislators characterized as substantial.
Sheriff Brian Hess told the committee the deputy position attached to the CRT is not reimbursed by the grant and described the arrangement as "an unfunded mandate for the Sheriff's Department; the deputy is not reimbursed." He said the department currently has 34 deputies assigned to road patrol but is down three vacancies plus the deputy assigned to the CRT, which increases road‑patrol overtime.
Legislator Nicole Sayegh said, “The CRT is working well and mental health is important in law enforcement,” and recounted examples of recent incidents on the bike path to underline the team’s value. Legislator Ellner asked about the root causes of vacancies; Sheriff Hess said recruitment and retention remain challenges and that two recruits are scheduled for the academy in January.
Chairman Jonke asked Sheriff Hess to determine the fiscal impact of continuing the deputy assignment, including overtime costs needed to backfill road patrol. Legislator Ellner said he would be open to funding additional personnel to sustain the program.
The committee also heard public comment linking the CRT to broader mental‑health needs: Legislator Montgomery noted the coroner’s third‑quarter report showed four suicides this year, and resident Brett Yarris urged making the mental‑health crisis a county priority. Montgomery asked whether the CRT would continue after a change in the Sheriff’s Department staff overseeing the program; Sheriff Hess said the program will continue and Commissioner Servadio said she would confer with the Sheriff about leadership of the CRT within the department.
Next steps: the Sheriff was asked to return with a fiscal analysis of the CRT deputy’s cost and the overtime that vacancies are driving. The committee did not take formal action on funding at the Nov. 12 meeting.
