As he puts together his 2024 budget, Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck says state mandates, such as bail reform and Raise the Age laws, are putting a burden on his staff.
“We’re really getting to a point where it’s hard to be as proactive as were,” Schenck told FLX Morning. “In many cases, we can’t do proactive enforcement like we used to because we’re tied up with all these other things.”
Due to bail reform allowing more people to be released on appearance tickets, deputies end up spending more time executing bench warrants for those who fail to make their court appearances. With Raise the Age Laws, juveniles cannot be housed in jails and must be transported by sheriff’s office staff to special detention facilities, some as far away as New York City.
Schenck believes he’ll need to add more staff to keep up with the demands of public safety.
“I think I’m going to have to look at bringing on additional staff, maybe a few more deputies to address the need for some of these things and to continue to be proactive,” he continued. “So, on top of a difficult budget year, it looks like we may have to look to add some people to address these things.”
The sheriff plans to give a presentation before the county legislature to go into further detail about where staff members are needed as well as what services his office provides.