To the Editor:
Whitney Meeker’s recent letter about redundant “jail studies” was spot on. Sheriff Lee Price formed volunteer committee of retired criminal justice professionals, a civil engineer, a criminal justice professor with broad field experience in community-based corrections and retired military officer with a background in procurement and facilities management in 2005. After an exhaustive year-long study, the committee submitted its report to the full Legislature in 2006. The report was summarily tabled and shortly thereafter the Legislature commissioned another study for $35,000. A year later THEIR report arrived at the same conclusions as the “free one”: The existing jail is too small, the structure cannot be expanded, and a newer and much larger facility needs to be constructed. The Legislature then concluded that the cost was unaffordable and dropped the issue. Several things have happened in the years since then. While closing prisons the state has eliminated the per-diem paid for housing state inmates in county jails and nearly zeroed out reimbursement for mandated probation and other alternatives, leaving the counties to cover those costs. This will inevitably have implications for how the county prioritizes spending and distributes revenues. With the current crisis brought about by the State Correctional Officers’ strike and new prison closings, “inevitable” is likely soon.
Jim Cunningham
Cortland
