By Tom Grace
COOPERSTOWN _ True to his word, Otsego County Sheriff Richard Devlin Jr. packed the county courthouse Tuesday night with more than 200 ``public safety partners'' who argued against budget cuts aimed at his department.
Deputies, corrections officers, firefighters, their families and others turned out in force, asking the county Board of Representatives not to make cuts to public safety. In the courtroom, every seat was taken and people stood three and four deep around the perimeter, as others listened from outside the open door.
The county's 14 board members, who've been wrestling with a $114.76 million tentative budget that would raise property taxes about 11 percent next month, sat in the jury box, surrounded. Their basic problem is that the county's sales tax revenue has plummeted, leaving a deficit of about $3 million this year and worries for next year.
To whittle the property tax levy increase to about 11 percent, the county's Administration Committee proposed cutting six corrections officers, three deputies, a probation officer, three senior meals sites, at least one public health nurse and the county's GIS coordinator, among a host of reductions.
At a workshop earlier Tuesday, the board informally agreed to restore the corrections officer and probation positions, while cutting funds for roof repair, the Cooperstown infrastructure program and the arts.
The board is slated to review and perhaps vote on the budget today.
Speakers Tuesday night gave them much to consider. First up was Gary Maha, president of the New York State Sheriff's Association, who said he understood these are difficult economic times, ``but your primary responsibility is public safety.''
Maha said that eliminating corrections officers would not save money if a prisoner committed suicide and county was found negligent.
Maha was followed by the sheriffs of Gates, Montgomery, Lewis, and Chatauqua counties who argued that Otsego County's road patrol cannot be safely trimmed.
Chatauqua Sheriff Joseph Gerace said that two years ago, his county's legislature tried to cut 20 positions, ``but we ended up cutting no one.'' He urged Otsego's representatives to follow suit.
Devlin, the night's sixth speaker, was greeted with an ovation. He said he has worked hard to control costs, but ``with these cuts, my office will not be able to function effectively.''
Hank Sheldon, who operated the county's boat patrol for years, asked the board not to cut the program. ``There are seven people alive today because of my actions,'' he noted.
Several public health nurses said the proposed person-and-a-half cut to their department would undercut vital health programs, including inoculations against illnesses.
Bill Gibson of the Farm Service Agency and veterinarian Bob Scrafford asked board members not to cut Cooperative Extension, which aids farmers suffering through extremely hard times.
Former county Rep. Joseph Kenyon, D-Worcester, told board members they should not cut three senior meals sites from the county's program.
``Consolidate, don't eliminate,'' he advised.
But most comments were aimed at the board's move to cut the sheriff's budget. April Koren asked board members to think about the dedicated individuals who would lose their jobs in the recession.
Cooperstown's police chief Diana Nicols noted that each trained deputy was worth about $25,000, money the county would be foolish to discard. Earlier this year, the Cooperstown Board of Trustees decided to cut the village's department "" a mistake, she said, for which people are still paying.
Nicols said that law enforcement is nearly invisible when it's working well, which is why law enforcement budgets are tempting targets in hard times.
``It's like getting rid of the lawnmower because the grass looks so good,'' she said.
In the long run, it's a mistake, she said, as criminals will take advantage of any weakening.
