As County Executive Vince Horrigan develops his 2015 county budget, County Sheriff Joe Gerace is defending his proposed spending plan that calls for a just over 4% increase. Gerace, who addressed the legislature's Public Safety Committee this week, says the biggest increases are being seen in employee union contracts...
Joe Gerace: employee union contracts
Gerace adds the other big cost for his department is operation of the County Jail in Mayville, which has been filled to capacity more than a few times in the past several months. He says that's cut their projected revenues for 2015 because they won't be able to house as many federal inmates as in the past. The county gets a set reimbursement for housing those prisoners. In fact, they've had so many local inmates, they're had to send some to neighboring counties. The last jail addition was seven years ago, but Gerace doesn't believe another addition will solve the problem...
Joe Gerace: adding to the jail is not the solution
Gerace says the vast majority of people that are in the jail "belong there," so alternatives to incarceration may have some impact. But he adds "we have to change the way we do business" to deal with the jail population.
As County Executive Vince Horrigan develops his 2015 county budget, County Sheriff Joe Gerace is defending his proposed spending plan that calls for a just over 4% increase. Gerace, who addressed the legislature's Public Safety Committee this week, says the biggest increases are being seen in employee union contracts...
