I have now completed seven years in office and I have to say
that it has been a rewarding experience. I wanted to take a moment to thank you
for your support and for the privilege of serving as your County Sheriff and to
announce that it is my intention to run for my third term in this year’s
election and to serve as your Sheriff for another four years. I am proud of my
record and the accomplishments the sheriff’s office has achieved during my
tenure.
It was another productive year in 2017 and we were able to
finish under budget for the seventh straight year. Our office also generated
just under 2 million dollars in revenue from housing Federal inmates, about
$5,500.00 per day. This revenue covered the bond payment (1.6 million) for the
Jail and Public Safety Facility and provided an additional $400,000.00 in
revenue for the county’s general fund.
The updates to our E-911 center and emergency radio system
are ongoing. Grant projects helped Allegany County make great advancements in
technology and infrastructure. In 2017 we were able to finish building our
Bolivar tower site as well as starting and finishing the new Alma and Angelica
sites bringing our total for new complete tower sites up to five. Construction
on the new Alfred tower has begun, and on December 4th through a shared
services agreement with Steuben County, both counties broke ground on the much
needed Whitesville site which is being worked on today and weather permitting
will be finished later this year.
Late last summer we learned that our application for more
grant funding was approved as we were awarded another $911,000 to go toward our
radio system project. These funds will
be used to start the process of licensing radio frequencies for use on the new
towers and to start the purchasing of the radios to be installed on those
towers. Since I took office in 2011 Allegany County has been successful in
receiving around 8.3 million dollars in grant funding for the 911 system.
The national drug crisis has also affected Allegany County.
Last year our Narcotics Unit conducted several investigations into the sale and
trafficking of narcotics, marijuana, and other dangerous drugs within Allegany
County. These investigations resulted in the adoption of many drug related
cases, but it has become increasingly apparent that we cannot arrest our way
out of this epidemic. To that end, through partnerships with other agencies, I
have implemented several programs at the Sheriff’s Office focusing on
prevention, treatment and recovery. Also through our bi-annual pill drops and
the addition of several drop boxes throughout the county we have taken mass
amounts of drugs off of our streets and out of the hands of our youth.
The Jail Division had several notable accomplishments in
2017. On February 7-9 the Jail Division was once again inspected by a contract
team hired by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to assess compliance with
National Detention Standards. The inspection team that consisted of five
corrections professionals was impressed by the facility operations and the
professionalism of our staff. The
beginning of 2017 saw a slight decline in inmate population and jail staff took
the opportunity to move inmates out of each housing unit so that it could be
cleaned from ceiling to floor, paint was touched up and floors were stripped
and waxed. This level of maintenance had
not been done since we moved in, in 2006.
The working inmate program continued to assist with meals,
laundry, cleaning and maintenance at the jail. In 2017 the working inmates
logged over 22,000 hours (equivalent to 11 full-time employees) at a cost of
$2,788.00 which is paid out of the inmate commissary account. In addition to
their duties inside the jail, the program logged over 200 hours on several
different projects outside the facility and raised and harvested over 16,000
pounds of produce in the inmate garden which was used to further reduce meal
costs at the jail. Additionally, through the pheasant program our working
inmates were able to raise and release 1,502 birds throughout the county.
The Sheriff’s Office has continued our positive
relationships with the other law enforcement agencies throughout our area by
supplying manpower and equipment to assist with arrests, investigations, local
parades, festivals and other events when necessary.
In January, I attended the New York State Sheriff’s
Association Winter Conference in Albany, where we discussed several important
issues related to Sheriff Office Operations. I was also honored to be nominated
and elected to serve as Sgt. at Arms for the Association.
My door is always open to answer any questions you may have
regarding the Sheriff’s Office and our operations. My contact information and
information about the sheriff’s office and our services can be found at: http://www.alleganyco.com/departments/sheriffs-office.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Sheriff and I
look forward to serving all the citizens of Allegany County in the coming
years.
Rick Whitney
Allegany County Sheriff
