MONTICELLO – It won’t help for this summer, but Sullivan County Sheriff Michael Schiff got his wish to have five deputy positions restored. The positions were lost with the consolidation of E911 operations.
Schiff made the pitch during a recent Public Safety committee meeting, and again during the Executive Committee meeting, prior to last Thursday’s monthly full legislature session.
These are those five positions,” Schiff said. “This is not anticipating the casino. This is getting us up to our strength or almost to our strength where we were.”
Schiff said there is a training class this fall. The next one would not be until next spring.
Legislature Chairman Luis Alvarez, who spent three decades in the sheriff’s
department, said not having adequate deputies on patrol can have county-wide
ramifications if one serious incident happens.
“All you need is one call, one critical call, you lost your entire, and who’s covering the rest of the county? Alvarez asked. “Now, it takes, and I can tell you, it takes a long time, between three and a half and four years before a police officer knows what he’s doing. You are not going to train him overnight.”
Other legislators agreed, with some saying they are satisfied the county manager and budget officers are working to minimize the financial impact of creating the new positions.
DOG-gone good meeting of sheriff’s cadets
May 16, 2024
