Overtime costs in the Erie County Sheriff’s Office this year are twice what was anticipated in this year’s budget – by more than $13 million.
And the likelihood that the county will continue to see such overruns when the Sheriff’s Office is receiving a lion’s share of new jobs and upgraded pay and benefits is making some county money watchers uncomfortable.
The Erie County control board, for one, isn’t buying the argument that more jobs will mean less overtime. Chairman James Sampson said representatives from the Sheriff’s Office and County Executive’s Office told the county’s Fiscal Stability Authority the same thing last year. It wasn’t true then, he said, and he doubts it will be true now.
“I think it will not work,” he said. “We’re going to be seeing the same thing next year.”
Overall, Sheriff’s Office spending received the most discussion of all proposed budget items presented to the control board.
The sheriff’s budget is projected to grow from $150 million this year to $181 million next year, an increase of more than 20%. Some of that increase is attributable to newly renegotiated union contracts that will raise Sheriff’s Office pay. But that doesn’t cover everything.
Sheriff John Garcia said he underestimated the amount of time it would take to fill the jobs they were allotted last year because of the archaic civil service hiring process, but that’s changed now.
Ever since Garcia became Erie County sheriff last year, he and County Executive Mark Poloncarz have developed a strong working relationship despite belonging to opposite political parties. Garcia has managed to accomplish things cooperatively with the county administration that his predecessor, Timothy Howard, never could.
Garcia gained Poloncarz’s agreement to hire high numbers of additional jail staff to reduce overtime. He also gained the county executive’s backing on the need for a new county jail.
The sheriff also…
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