Corrections officers are badly needed for Genesee County Jail, and it’s time to expand the search, Sheriff William Sheron says.
Now that a new jail is under construction, there are to be male and female inmates, which creates a need for more, and more diverse, officers, Sheron said during Wednesday’s Ways & Means meeting.
“We’re looking for candidates for corrections officers, especially females,” he said.
He asked legislators for approval of an amendment to allow officers to be from contiguous counties as well as from the desired first choice of Genesee. Less than 40 people took the last Civil Service test, compared to 80 previously. The pool of candidates is growing "leaner and leaner," he said.
Sheron hopes that by enlarging the pool to include other counties, there will be more candidates to choose from.
Several years after initial planning, saving and getting documentation in place for a new Genesee County Jail, the first shovels struck the ground in May for the $70 million, 184-bed facility on West Main Street Road, adjacent to County Building #2. It’s on track for a March 2024 completion.
Once the jail is completed, there are to be male and female inmates, and therefore female officers would be required for the facility. Legislative Chairwoman Shelley Stein remarked that it’s “going to be a beautiful facility” to work in, to which Sheron replied “night and day.”
A public hearing must take place before the proposed amendment — to expand the residency territorial area to employ corrections officers — is officially adopted. The committee agreed to set that for 5:30 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Genesee County Old Courthouse, 7 Main St., Batavia.
The resolution states that “The County of Genesee Legislature hereby finds that in order to ensure an adequate pool of qualified applicants as Correction Officer, it is necessary and advisable that such Correction Officer may be permitted to reside within the County of Genesee or any county contiguous to the County of Genesee: namely, Erie, Niagara, Orleans, Monroe, Livingston, or Wyoming Counties.”
As it stands now, state public officers law requires a person to be a resident of the political subdivision or municipal corporation of the state for which such person is chosen or within such person’s official functions. That law can only be revised by an act of the Legislature.
For anyone interested in taking the related test, the next one is on Dec. 10.
For more information, go to Genesee County.
File Photo of Sheriff William Sheron being sworn in as first new sheriff in nearly 30 years. Photo by Howard Owens.
