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Fair Union leader: 'Someone will get hurt'
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Michael Adams, president of the Sheriff Officers Association, pleaded with county lawmakers on Monday to reconsider laying off 100 correction officers and making service cuts at the jail, measures included in County Executive Tom Suozzi's emergency plan to close a budget gap anticipated to be as high as $150 million.
Inmates "tend to get mad when you take things away from them," Adams told members of the county Legislature. "The people who have to stand there when it is being taken from them are the corrections officers.
"If there is any consideration for correction officers and layoffs," he added, "I just want you to know, as I can put you on notice today: Someone will get hurt."
In addition to layoffs, Saturday visiting hours would be eliminated and other hours during the week would be reduced, decreasing total weekly visitation time from 60 hours to 40, according to a memo released by the county last week. Also, several meal relief officers - those who fill in during breaks for other correction officers - could be eliminated, necessitating up to two and a half additional hours of inmate lockdown time in their cells.
Adams was one of several union leaders and county employees who spoke against layoffs and service cuts at a legislative session in Mineola. Unlike others who discussed financial and quality-of-life issues, however, Adams's plea focused on potential safety and security issues that could arise if cuts are made at the jail.
Legislator Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow) added to Adams's argument, noting that such changes at the facility could have negative effects on the surrounding community. The jail is on Carman Avenue, across the street from East Meadow High School and next to the Nassau County Medical Center, and is within walking distance of a neighborhood with a large population of senior citizens.
"The jail is in the heart of the East Meadow school district community," Gonsalves said. "It is in the heart of the district where so many senior citizens live. We have always felt the safety of the correction officers is a priority because if they are not safe, [neither] is the community."
Layoffs were part of Suozzi's three-point plan to rescue the county from a severe budget gap that he said has resulted mostly from the reeling economy and declining sales tax revenues. Suozzi's alternative to layoffs is an across-the-board 7 percent salary cut for county workers, a measure that he continues to negotiate with union leaders.
A legislative committee put off a vote on Suozzi's layoff plan until the next session, on Feb. 23.
Under the county executive's plan, 100 of the 1,030 correction officers would be laid off. At least 60 officers live in East Meadow, Adams estimated. According to Adams, the layoffs would be among the 600 officers in the facility's security sector. He also explained that the center now has significantly fewer administrators than it has had in the past. There are now just two administrators - the acting sheriff and the commissioner - and corrections officers handle all other duties, he said. "We are cut to the bare bones," Adams said.
In addition, specialized officers in the gang and canine units are to be redeployed, officials said. Adams explained that if one of his highly trained canine specialists is transferred to the visitation unit, the canine department could potentially shrink or even be eliminated.
"We are not talking about redeployment," Adams said. "I am talking about abandoning, and how dangerous that is to corrections officers."
Two weeks ago, a dog led a correction officer to make an arrest of a visitor for bringing drugs into the facility.
Suozzi said last week that conditions at the correctional facility would continue to meet state standards. Although his budget proposal also includes the potential layoffs of 250 county police officers, he emphasized his confidence in public safety at a press briefing last week.
"I do not believe public safety will be compromised as a result," he said.
The county executive also reiterated that an across-the-board salary cut of 7 percent would prevent such cuts.
The county Legislature will meet next on Feb. 23 at 10 a.m. in the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building in Mineola.
Comments about this story? MCaputo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
Inmates "tend to get mad when you take things away from them," Adams told members of the county Legislature. "The people who have to stand there when it is being taken from them are the corrections officers.
"If there is any consideration for correction officers and layoffs," he added, "I just want you to know, as I can put you on notice today: Someone will get hurt."
In addition to layoffs, Saturday visiting hours would be eliminated and other hours during the week would be reduced, decreasing total weekly visitation time from 60 hours to 40, according to a memo released by the county last week. Also, several meal relief officers - those who fill in during breaks for other correction officers - could be eliminated, necessitating up to two and a half additional hours of inmate lockdown time in their cells.
Adams was one of several union leaders and county employees who spoke against layoffs and service cuts at a legislative session in Mineola. Unlike others who discussed financial and quality-of-life issues, however, Adams's plea focused on potential safety and security issues that could arise if cuts are made at the jail.
"The jail is in the heart of the East Meadow school district community," Gonsalves said. "It is in the heart of the district where so many senior citizens live. We have always felt the safety of the correction officers is a priority because if they are not safe, [neither] is the community."
Layoffs were part of Suozzi's three-point plan to rescue the county from a severe budget gap that he said has resulted mostly from the reeling economy and declining sales tax revenues. Suozzi's alternative to layoffs is an across-the-board 7 percent salary cut for county workers, a measure that he continues to negotiate with union leaders.
A legislative committee put off a vote on Suozzi's layoff plan until the next session, on Feb. 23.
Under the county executive's plan, 100 of the 1,030 correction officers would be laid off. At least 60 officers live in East Meadow, Adams estimated. According to Adams, the layoffs would be among the 600 officers in the facility's security sector. He also explained that the center now has significantly fewer administrators than it has had in the past. There are now just two administrators - the acting sheriff and the commissioner - and corrections officers handle all other duties, he said. "We are cut to the bare bones," Adams said.
In addition, specialized officers in the gang and canine units are to be redeployed, officials said. Adams explained that if one of his highly trained canine specialists is transferred to the visitation unit, the canine department could potentially shrink or even be eliminated.
"We are not talking about redeployment," Adams said. "I am talking about abandoning, and how dangerous that is to corrections officers."
Two weeks ago, a dog led a correction officer to make an arrest of a visitor for bringing drugs into the facility.
Suozzi said last week that conditions at the correctional facility would continue to meet state standards. Although his budget proposal also includes the potential layoffs of 250 county police officers, he emphasized his confidence in public safety at a press briefing last week.
"I do not believe public safety will be compromised as a result," he said.
The county executive also reiterated that an across-the-board salary cut of 7 percent would prevent such cuts.
The county Legislature will meet next on Feb. 23 at 10 a.m. in the Theodore Roosevelt Executive and Legislative Building in Mineola.
Comments about this story? MCaputo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
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