Body Camera. (Photo Source: Axon website).
The Cortland County Federal Aid Allocation Citizen's Advisory Committee recently considered proposals from county agencies.
The committee voted unanimously to move forward with new security upgrades for the county sheriff’s office, new tech upgrades for the agency of aging, and allocating funds for new county courthouse restoration projects.
The committee convened to consider proposals to fund with money from the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation of $9.2 million.
Proposal for body cams
One of the proposals came from Cortland County Undersheriff Budd Riggs. He presented a $440,400 request that would fund body cams and dash cams for full-time deputies for the next five years.
Riggs noted the county sheriff’s office had secured a partial grant that could be coming in down the road to partially fund this new security upgrade.
“We never have any opportunity in this county to add funds to be able to do something. This is only going to get more expensive,” Riggs said. He noted that the camera systems would help deputies during traffic stops, as well as serve to verify claims of misconduct made by community members.
According to Riggs, there were two incidents that exemplified the need for the cameras in these past two weeks.
“The most recent was a few days ago when we got a complaint that our officer was pointing a gun at somebody’s face,” he said. “It was unfounded, but if we had bodycams, it would have been a simple (matter of checking the record). Instead, we had to send out investigators to canvas the neighborhood.”
Riggs noted the investigation was aided by residents in the neighborhood who had video of the interaction. The results yielded by the investigation have to go to the state regardless of the findings, Riggs said. He noted that the camera systems would be helpful in similar situations.
“I believe it is very important to have them not only on the officers, but in the vehicles,” said legislator Sandra Price (D-LD-14). “It protects our citizens and protects our employees both. I would support the full amount.”
Democratic Minority Leader Beau Harbin (LD-2) noted he echoed Price’s sentiment regarding the importance of the cameras, but raised questions about the funding.
“Is this one of those uses that the American Rescue Plan can cover?,” he asked. “Or should we be looking at the additional funds we received in sales tax as a more sustainable way to make sure we fund this necessary addition?”
County Administrator Rob Corpora responded by saying to legislators that the ARP federal funding needs to be spent before 2026.
“This is a five-year plan, and there is an expense of almost $100,000 each year. There will have to be money built into the budget,” Corpora said. “That can come from sales tax or property tax, but it will eventually have to go into the annual budget. With ARP funds, it is just a matter of how much you want to use to fund this request.”
Legislator Paul Heider (R-LD-16) noted he was in “total support” of purchasing the equipment. He proposed a resolution that would allocate funds to cover two years of the body cam and dash cam expenses not to exceed $200,000 in total expenditures.
After the two years, Harbin said the county will incorporate the expenses for the cameras into their regular annual budget.
Further County Courthouse Repairs
As part of that $1 million in ARP that had been reserved for County Courthouse renovation projects, the projects include repairs to the staircase at the building’s entrance.
“We just approved a contract to get an estimate for those repairs,” Legislator Cathy Bischoff (D-LD-3) said. “Why are we doing the million now? What if we find out the (quote) is different?”
Corpora noted he had already allocated the funds, and the motion in place would simply help solidify that allocation.
“There are many things that need to be done at the courthouse,” he said. “There is the roof, there are the steps, there are the emergency exit doors, there are the elevators. There are also grants and other funding we can get.”
Proposal from the local agency on aging
Area Agency on Aging Director Liz Haskins also presented a request for funding that would go toward (connectivity technology) for community members who have struggled to stay up to date during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as furniture for the new senior center at Crescent Commons in the Crown City.
“For our home-bound senior population, 40 percent of them are reporting they do not have connectivity to the internet,” Haskins said. He noted the information is based on an in-house survey. “For senior citizens living (in a congregate housing environment), 30 percent reported they do not have access to any type of way to get information online.”
Haskin’s initial request totaled $150,000 in federal funds. It would be used on a variety of items, including American with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant furniture, as well as televisions, tablets, and computers. She noted she wants the agency to make Crescent Commons a “state of the art, enhanced version of our traditional senior centers.”
“We want to make sure we connect those sites back to our hub and to connect those home-bound individuals to our hub so they know they are contributing parts of our society,” Haskins said.
The committee then added an extra $25,000 to shore up any other funding needs.
“This kind of just buttons up the vision of (Bischoff and Haskins), and everyone works to get this vision done. This is the last bit of it,” said County Legislative Chair Kevin Fitch (R-LD8). “I am in support of the $175,000.”
