Genesee County Deputy Sheriffs' Association

In what Genesee County Manager Matt Landers labeled a “spirited but good process,” the county settled a three-year deal with the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association that lands at just under a half million dollars for the first year.

The agreement between the Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the county includes raises of 7.5 percent for 2024 that will have a budget impact of $480,546 for items such as overtime salaries, hourly on-call, holiday and special pay, social security and Medicare taxes, and retirement expenses.

“I think at the end of the day, both sides are getting everything they want with the signing of the contract. So I'm pleased that we can get this done,” Landers said during Wednesday’s Ways & Means meeting. “I think the vote was very favorable, It was better than the CSEA contract. I think there was one no."

The union contract also includes raises of 5 percent for 2025 and 3 percent in 2026. 

The agreement was negotiated with the county Legislature, Sheriff’s Office and Deputy Sheriffs’ Association. The Ways & Means Committee agreed to pass it onto the full Legislature for a final vote next week. That meeting will be at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.  

Committee Chairwoman Marianne Clattenburg said that the contract serves two purposes: not only to “show our appreciation to the workforce and to retain, but also to recruit,” she said. 

If approved, the total total budget expense would be broken down as follows:

• $ 257,567 to Sheriff, personal services
• $ 25,925 to Sheriff, overtime salaries
• $ 1,020 to Sheriff, overtime drug
• $ 3,522 to Sheriff, overtime Darien Lake
• $ 1,275 to Sheriff, overtime court
• $ 34,000 to Sheriff, additional police
• $ 6,227 to Sheriff, hourly on-call
• $ 12,070 to Sheriff, special pay holiday
• $ 2,295 to Sheriff, special pay training
• $ 7,395 to Sheriff, briefing
• $ 24,572 to Sheriff, social security tax
• $ 5,747 to Sheriff, Medicare tax
• $ 98,931 to Sheriff, retirement

“It’s a three-year deal, just like with the CSEA. And the logic now is, any kind of adjustments you could do in year one and then we go through and smooth it out. We've learned from prior ones not to go into a five-year deal, and I'm pleased with it,” Landers said. “It was a spirited process, but based on how the vote went, our team and internal management team was happy. It was a good process.”

Better late than really, really late.

Tonight’s ratification of a four-year contract with Genesee County is a welcome relief for Sgt. John Baiocco, president of the Genesee County Deputy Sheriffs' Association.

“It was long overdue -- because of COVID and changing from County Manager Jay (Gsell) to Matt (Landers). But I think it is fair and equal to both parties, and the extension to four years makes sense because we’re already a year and five months out of it,” Baiocco said during the Genesee County Legislature’s meeting at the Old County Courthouse.

The pact, which is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2020, gives the 45-member-strong union pay raises of 2 percent for both 2020 and 2021, 2.25 percent for 2022 and 2.5 percent for 2023. It also stipulates that deputies will pay a bit more toward health insurance premiums but will receive a bit more in their uniform allowance.

Landers said that it will cost the county about $138,000 to cover the salary increases for last year and this year. About $116,000 of that amount will come from a contingency account and the remainder will be taken from the sheriff’s medical expense line.

Costs for 2022 and 2023 will be included in the budgets for those years, he added.

All in all, Baiocco said the association is “very pleased” and is looking forward to getting on with “our regular police business.”

In other action, the legislature:

• Passed a resolution to accept $170,000 for a second round of funding from the state Septic System Replacement Program to repair and replace substandard septic systems located along Tonawanda Creek, Bowen Brook, Bigelow Creek and Oatka Creek.

Previously, the county received $150,000 in the program’s first round of funding. The latest agreement with the NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation of Albany runs through Dec. 31, 2026.

Nola Goodrich-Kresse, public health educator/information officer, said homeowners can check whether they qualify for the program by sending an email to health.dept@co.genesee.ny/us and write Septic System Replacement Funding in the subject line.

Upon approval, an award approval letter would be sent to the individual and once the system is installed, the individual would need to complete and submit a reimbursement request form.

Eligibility is based on owners living within 250 feet of a specific stream or tributary that has been identified to be covered under this program, she said, adding that funding covers only septic systems that are failing.

Goodrich-Kresse said $86,533 has been paid out of the first round money thus far.

• Learned from Legislature Chair Rochelle Stein that the final session of the Finger Lakes Control Room, a key communication arm during the coronavirus pandemic, is scheduled for this Friday – one year after the group’s first meeting.

“Hopefully, there is a light at the end of this tunnel,” she said.

Genesee County Legislature’s Ways & Means Committee this afternoon voted in favor of a four-year contract, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2020, with the Genesee County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association that calls for between 2 and 2 ½ percent annual pay raises.

Terms of the pact include salary increases of 2 percent for both 2020 and 2021, 2.25 percent for 2022, and 2.5 percent for 2023.

Additionally, according to County Manager Matt Landers, deputies will pay slightly more toward the employee share of health insurance premiums but will receive slightly more for the uniform allowance.

Landers said that it was his understanding that the contract passed overwhelmingly in a vote by the union membership, which consists of road patrol deputies, investigators and school resource officers.

A telephone call to Union President John Baiocco was not returned at the time of the posting of this story.

“The contract has expired, so hopefully in the future we can put ourselves in a position to have a contract settled without having any period where there is an expired contract,” Landers said. “That’s my personal goal as county manager and I’m going to work very hard to accomplish that. In this case, COVID threw everything for a loop. This is an atypical contract. I don’t expect the next contract to have a year and half expired before we ratify a new one.”

Landers said Sheriff William Sheron “hammered out directly with the union some things that are more procedural, but as far as monetary terms, we pretty much got that done with both sides agreeing that it is fair.”

Per the resolution, funds to cover contract costs were budgeted in the county’s contingency account.

Landers said that due to vacant positions in the Sheriff’s Office, funds are available to cover a portion of the increase. The total transfer from contingency is $116,199.

Mortgage Tax Distribution Increases

In other action, the committee approved a resolution authorizing County Treasurer Scott German to distribute the first of two mortgage tax payments for 2021 to the City of Batavia and the county’s towns and villages.

The amount to be allocated, $465,343.03, is more than $75,000 higher than the first payment in 2020 and $200,000+ more than the first payment in 2019.

County Clerk Michael Cianfrini said he attributes the increase to the robust housing market.

“It’s probably a combination of the economy improving so you’re seeing more house purchases than you’ve seen in recent years,” he said. “My speculation is that it is due to the fact that housing prices have gone up so much, and the mortgages that people are taking out on the houses are significantly higher than recent years.”

The amount of the mortgage tax distributions are as follows:

• City of Batavia -- $81,520.65;
• Town of Alabama -- $12,378.68;
• Town of Alexander -- $19,562.53;
• Town of Batavia -- $80,877.17;
• Town of Bergen -- $24,236.58;
• Town of Bethany -- $14,662.19;
• Town of Byron -- $21,697.85;
• Town of Darien -- $37,676.58;
• Town of Elba -- $11,478.03;
• Town of Le Roy -- $43,476.29;
• Town of Oakfield -- $13,307.92;
• Town of Pavilion -- $13,335.52;
• Town of Pembroke -- $44,538.34;
• Town of Stafford -- $21,776.79;
• Village of Alexander -- $2,014.82;
• Village of Attica -- $708.96;
• Village of Bergen -- $3,348.50;
• Village of Corfu -- $2,696.30
• Village of Elba -- $1,418.78;
• Village of Le Roy -- $12,577.40;
• Village of Oakfield -- $2,055.15;

The committee also recommended the reappointment of Matt Gray, of Batavia, owner of Eli Fish Brewing Co., to the Board of Directors of the Genesee County Economic Development Center effective July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2027.

All of the Ways & Means Committee action will be forwarded to the full county legislature at its May 12 meeting.