County office bulding
KINGSTON – In the wake of recent violence in public locations,
Ulster County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach is urging stronger safety measures
for the county workers and those who transact business in the County Office
Building in Kingston.
His call comes because of many instances of violence at public locations, most recently the murders of college students at a California bar on Wednesday night and the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre just two weeks before.
Auerbach said for the past five years, he has urged county leaders to address the issue, but he said to date, there is only a “marginal security effort.”
He is proposing a number of measures. They include separate entrances for staff and the general public; installation of metal detectors at the entrance; visitor sign-in prior to accessing elevators to identify guest, their purpose and destination; requiring all employees to display their county ID; and installing cameras in all stairwells.
Auerbach said some cameras have been added and a few offices, including the county executive’s and county legislature, have electronic, remote released lockout devices.
“There are several offices that enjoy this additional protection, but the entire building’s security needs to be considered,” the comptroller said.
