MONTICELLO – A bill on the governor’s desk would allow sheriff’s department corrections officers to retire after 20 years of service. At present, they can only do that after 25 years on the job, while their fellow law enforcement officers – sheriff’s deputies and police officers on road patrols – are eligible to retire after 20 years. The state CSEA is in support of lowering the time on the job.
“Getting a 20-year retirement options is essential to all of us,” said CSEA Sullivan County Jail Unit president-elect John Wagner. He noted studies that show corrections officers have an average life span lower than that of the general public.
“Corrections is some of the hardest work,” said Sullivan County Sheriff Michael Schiff. “I see no reason why the deputies in our jail shouldn’t have the same.”
Undersheriff Eric Chaboty said workers in the Sullivan County Jail not only deal with inmates charged with alleged crimes; many of those same inmates wind up in jail after alleged actions related to untreated mental illness, which provides officers an additional challenge.
“Our deputy sheriffs in the jail walk the roughest beat in Sullivan County,” Chaboty said. “Corrections has become the front line in mental health treatment. Many of our inmates wind up here because there are no longer any facilities to treat them.”
CSEA members working in the Cattaraugus County Jail have also been involved in lobbying efforts.
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