Cortland County Sheriff Mark Helms, left, announced on Thursday that he appointed Chad Burhans as the county's new undersheriff. Burhans was previously the road patrol captain in the county sheriff's office. (Photo provided by the Cortland County Sheriff's Office).
Life-long county resident and longtime Cortland County Sheriff road patrol captain Chad Burhans will be the county’s new undersheriff, Sheriff Mark Helms announced Thursday.
Burhans, a 2002 Homer High School graduate and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, will step into the undersheriff role that has been vacant since this summer. Former undersheriff Bud Rigg retired in August.
“Please join me in congratulating Chad Burhans on his newly appointed position as the Cortland County undersheriff,” Helms said in a social media post Thursday.
Burhans started at the sheriff’s office in 2007 as a parole officer and has held a number of roles. He was at one point the lead investigator on “many major felony cases” in the county. Most recently, Burhans held the title of road patrol captain.
“The sheriff officially asked me and I couldn't be prouder to continue to serve the community,” Burhans said.
On how he sees his role at the department, Burhans said officers are “ultimately there to serve.”
“We’re here to serve the community,” he said. “I served the country and when I moved back home to Cortland County, this is where I wanted to be. I really wanted to continue to serve in the community that I live in.”
