Public Safety Committee
October 5, 2006 3:00 p.m.
Scott Heyman Conference Room
Present: L. McBean-Clairborne, M. Robertson, M. Koplinka-Loehr (arrived at 3:12 p.m.); M. Hattery (arrived at 3:13 p.m.)
Excused: R. Booth
Staff: J. Hughes, Assigned Counsel Program; D. Wolf, Department of Probation and Community Justice; P. Meskill, Sheriff; G. Wilkinson, District Attorney; S. Cook, County Attorney; P. Younger, County Administration; L. Shurtleff, Department of Emergency Response
Guests: B. Robison, Candidate for Sheriff; N. Rosen, Offender Aid and Restoration
Mrs. McBean-Clairborne called the meeting to order at 3:12 p.m.
The following items were added to the agenda:
RESOLUTION: Appropriation from Contingent Fund – Offender Aid and Restoration
Budget Adjustment – Sheriff
Mr. Robison introduced himself and stated he is a candidate for the office of Sheriff.
Mrs.
McBean-Clairborne reported Susan Cook, Chair of the Criminal Justice
Advisory/Alternatives to Incarceration Board, presented a report to the
full
Legislature on the Advisory Board’s progress to date and asked if there
were
any follow-up questions to that presentation.
Ms. Younger, Deputy County Administrator, said facilitation team has been pulled together and has representatives of all of the facets of the justice system, including the Sheriff, District Attorney, Probation, DSS, OAR, CARS (Cayuga Addiction Recovery Service), and others. They are attempting to take the list of actions and recommendations that appeared in the progress report and put it into a framework where they can make determinations about what and why decisions/conclusions were made and how well those decisions worked. In the upcoming department head meeting there will be a rollout of this framework, along with discussion of the model that is being used. She said it is called an industry standard model referred to as the ADDIE (Assessment, Design and Development, Implementation and Evaluation).
Ms. Younger said a lot of what has to be done is to refine the action steps into real strategic objectives. There will be a series of meetings; the facilitation team will divide into separate workgroups and these workgroups will be assigned to flush out strategic objectives into real action steps that can be implemented, measured, and evaluated.
Mrs.
McBean-Clairborne encouraged members to continue reading the report and
to stay
informed on this. Ms. Younger
will be provided with a copy of Legislator Proto’s resolution that was
referred
to the Public Safety Committee.
RESOLUTION
NO. – AUTHORIZATION TO
EXECUTE A FIVE-YEAR
AGREEMENT WITH THE NEW YORK STATE DIVISION OF PROBATION AND
CORRECTIONAL ALTERNATIVES
(CJATI)
It was MOVED by Mr. Koplinka-Loehr, seconded by Ms. Robertson, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the following resolution and submit to the full Legislature:
WHEREAS,
New York State has enacted laws to promote more efficient jail
population and
prison population management and the development of Alternative to
Incarceration (ATI) projects, and has appropriated funds for the
establishment
and operation of said ATI projects pursuant to Chapter 50 of the Laws
of 2006,
and
WHEREAS, the Criminal Justice Advisory/Alternatives to Incarceration Board of Tompkins County, pursuant to New York State Executive Law, has for many years participated in this contract through its annual Service Plan, and
WHEREAS, the New York State Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives, in conjunction with the Office of the State Comptroller, has developed a contract reflecting a five-year term rather than an annual contract, reflecting the annual sum of $26,800, a total of $134,000, requiring no matching local share, now therefore be it
RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Public Safety Committee, That the County Administrator or his designee is authorized to sign a five-year contract on behalf of the County’s Criminal Justice Advisory/Alternatives to Incarceration Board with the New York State Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives for the period of January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2010, for use in establishing or continuing appropriate ATI programs and projects.
SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-20
* * * *
* * * * * *
Mr.
Koplinka-Loehr stated it was originally thought that this resolution
would come
before the Legislature during the 2007 budget process; however, it was
felt
that by injecting this money into the OAR budget that it could have an
immediate impact on lowering Jail boardout costs.
Ms.
Rosen, Interim Executive Director, stated there is presently a balance
of
$2,000 in the Bail Fund which means they will have to be prioritizing
bails and
skipping over some individuals who are eligible, for lack of available
money.
She said because their staff is so busy conducting interviews and doing
the
necessary investigations and paperwork that there is time lost during
which
bails could be made. She said with
additional funding for staff-time, thousands of dollars could be saved
for the
County.
Mrs. McBean-Clairborne asked how many bails are currently out and at what levels. Ms. Rosen said there was an initial balance in the Bail Fund of approximately $20,000. There were very few forfeitures; approximately 34 bails have been made. The maximum bail is $2,500; however, when monies are low they tend to do smaller bails. They are now able to provide only $500 bails. They are now able to They also get a co-pay whenever possible and there is a three percent charge for bails at the end of the process.
Mr.
Koplinka-Loehr asked how many more bails would an additional $10,000 in
the
Bail Fund allow OAR to do. Ms.
Rosen said it would be very helpful, particularly if the staffing piece
could
also get more support. The Bail
Fund Coordinators is an 0.8 FTE; OAR has no full-time employees. She will prepare a breakdown of this
information.
Mr. Hattery stated that as a new Legislator he would like more information about OAR and the Agency’s operations. He asked specifically, what the purpose is of the County funding a program such as OAR. Ms. Rosen stated while the program reduces the number of jail days individuals spend in the County Jail, it also addresses a poverty issue. That is, some individuals have the ability to pay the required amount to post bail. However, there are some individuals who have been charged with the same crime but do not have the financial means; therefore, the OAR Bail Fund program brings equality to the process. Mr. Koplinka-Loehr said the Bail Fund also reduces the need to of board prisoners to other jails, thereby reducing the cost to taxpayers.
Mr.
Hattery requested historical information on the Bail Fund balance.
RESOLUTION NO. – APPROPRIATION FROM CONTINGENT FUND – BAIL FUND PROGRAM – OFFENDER AID AND RESTORATION
It was MOVED by Mr. Koplinka-Loehr, seconded by Ms. Robertson, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the following resolution and submit to the full Legislature:
WHEREAS, Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR), through its Bail Fund program, makes bail accessible for low-income individuals when available funds are the only barrier to release from the Tompkins County Jail pending trial, and
WHEREAS, bail amounts have risen significantly over the years such that OAR is able to help fewer people with the same amount of funding, and
WHEREAS,
at the beginning of 2006, OAR lowered the bail amounts they
would consider securing bail in amounts from $2,500 to $1,500 or less,
simply
because there was not enough money to go around and the agency decided
to
allocate smaller amounts to more people rather than larger amounts to
fewer
people, and
WHEREAS, in the first eight months of 2006 there were ten inmates who met the agency criteria for bail, with a mix of $500 to $1,500 bails (average about $1,000), but these inmates remained incarcerated because the bail fund was depleted and OAR did not have the money to lend them, and
WHEREAS,
an additional $10,000 in the bail fund would result in the following:
·
Fewer
jail days for
the County to pay (Note: the
Tompkins County Public Safety Facility costs about $100 per day, and a
board-out at a neighboring jail costs about $105 per day; this would
quickly
add up to more than $10,000 saved);
·
Fewer
people losing
their jobs and health insurance due to absence from work and then
needing to go
on public assistance following jail time;
·
Greater
equity between
people with the means of paying bail and those who do not have
sufficient
income to post bail;
·
Reduced
family trauma
from having a family member jailed. Many of the people who are arrested
and
assigned bail have their cases dismissed; others are sentenced to
non-jail
alternatives. Having to wait for their court date in jail, rather than
at home
while maintaining their family life, harms their children and other
relationships. Family trauma also results in clients losing their
homes,
requiring the County to pay for lodging at the shelter or other housing
alternatives, and
WHEREAS, OAR achieves a ninety percent return rate on its bails posted, with only very few forfeitures in the last six years, so that the $10,000 would be replenished and reallocated, now therefore be it
RESOLVED,
on recommendation of the Public Safety and the Budget and Capital
Committees,
That the Director of Finance be authorized to make the following budget
appropriation:
FROM: A1990.54400
Contingent
Fund
$10,000
TO:
A6316.54400
Program
Expense
$10,000
SEQR ACTION: TYPE II-20
* * * * * * * * * *
The Committee reviewed July and August Jail statistics.
Mr.
Hattery noted that to date there has been over $400,000 in boardout
expenses
and asked why the cost of this expense is not reflected in the
Sheriff’s
budget. Sheriff Meskill said this
would be a decision of the County Administrator and the Legislature. He also noted last year was the first
full year of operating without variances and the majority of expenses
were
absorbed by the Department.
Budget
Adjustment
The
following budget adjustment was unanimously approved by the Committee:
REVENUE:
3113.42270 Other
Miscellaneous
Revenues
$9,085
APPROPRIATION: 3113.52231 Vehicles
$9,085
Explanation: Payment for damage to patrol car;
budget adjustment for repair expense from the proper account.
* * * * * * * *
Department of
Emergency Response
Emergency
Medical Dispatch
Mr.
Shurtleff updated the Committee on the emergency medical dispatch
system and
said the Department is in the process of implementation in accordance
with
State and Federal standards.
Dispatch staff has completed training and they are working with
various
users to establish operation protocols. He
will be inviting the Public Safety Committee for a
tour to see the new system that was made possible by grant funds. Bangs Ambulance and the City of Ithaca
are working on issues related to emergency medical dispatch as well.
Dispatch
Operations
He
reported on dispatch operations and said a number of training issues
that need
to be addressed with staff have been identified and they are working on
that
front. Mr. Shurtleff said he has
been working on this with Anita Fitzpatrick, Personnel Commissioner,
and she
has been very helpful
He also noted there has been a limited number of complaints
recently. Ms. Rosen, Interim
Director of OAR and previous Director of Suicide Prevention and Crisis
Service,
complimented Dispatch on quality service to callas at risk of suicide.
Communications
System Update
Mr.
Shurtleff reported they are currently looking at operational components
of the
system and are working with engineering staff from Motorola and SSI. He has asked the retired Coordinator
from Clinton County, which is a County similar in size to Tompkins
County, to
assist with this. Clinton County
has a similar system and they were one of the first in the State to go
through
this process. Mr. Shurtleff
updated the Committee on the wireless system and stated they are
addressing
linked networks at the present time.
He noted that progress is being made and this is moving forward.
Mr.
Shurtleff said they are well underway with the construction piece and
during
the last two weeks towers have been constructed in the Towns of
Caroline,
Enfield, and Danby. Construction
was started at Ithaca College but came to a halt when there was a
problem with
one of the pieces that was being put up.
Mr. Shurtleff said engineers are coming in to evaluate the
situation. The last free standing
tower will
be put up in the Town of Danby the week of October 17th. Overall construction is still on track
to be completed by year-end.
Subscriber
Equipment
Mr.
Shurtleff spoke of funding and stated several members are trying to get
an
earmark in next year’s budgets; and he is also exploring several other
sources
of funding. He said he is
hopeful; however, funding has not been
secured as of this date. He stated
they are still working cooperatively with Cornell University and is
optimistic
about the outcome.
Power
Outage- Health Department
Mr.
Shurtleff reported on the power outage the Health Department is
currently
experiencing. It was unclear at
the time of this meeting how long the Department would be without
power;
however, County departments are working cooperatively during this
outage. He said they implemented an
emergency
plan and things have been running smoothly; portions of the Health
Department
have relocated to other County departments and he is pleased to see the
excess
capacity at the 911 Center is being used in this manner.
Approval of
Minutes of August 3 and September 5, 2006
It
was MOVED by Ms. Robertson, seconded by Mr. Koplinka-Loehr, and
unanimously
adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the minutes of the
August
3 and September 5, 2006 meetings as corrected. MINUTES
APPROVED.
Appointment
It
was MOVED by Ms. Robertson, seconded by Mr. Hattery, and unanimously
adopted by
voice vote by members present, to approve the appointment of Patricia
Carey to
the Criminal Justice Advisory/Alternatives to Incarceration Board as a
DSS
representative for a term expiring December31, 2007.
MOTION CARRIED.
Liaison
Reports
OAR
Mr.
Koplinka-Loehr reported the finalists for the position of OAR Director
are
being interviewed today and tomorrow.
Family
Court Advisory Council
Ms.
Robertson reported the out-of-school suspension project is up and
running in
the BOCES Community School. They are very open to community agencies
coming in
to work with kids in areas such as dispute resolution and developing
self-esteem. She will continue to
keep the Committee updated on this program.
Adjournment
The
meeting adjourned at 4:27 p.m.
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