Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz released a plan Thursday that he said "effectively closes the downtown Holding Center" among other steps to help close a projected $137.8 million deficit the county faces without federal stimulus money.
His plan also calls for eliminating 187 county jobs and laying off 65 employees.
The Sheriff's Office estimates it could save more than $10 million through a restructuring plan that would move most inmates out of the Erie County Holding Center and into the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden.
Only inmates awaiting court appearances or detainees who need to be processed would remain at the Holding Center.
With fewer people jailed as a result of bail reform, the jail consolidation makes sense because both facilities are operating well under capacity, said Sheriff's Office administrators. The Alden facility is newer, larger and easier to maintain, they added.
“We want to start moving people as soon as it is safe and practical to do so,” said Administrative Services Chief John Greenan.
The elimination of county positions includes many corrections officers and health care workers, as part of that consolidation plan, as well as reductions in Social Services and other departments.
Other plan highlights include:
- Using $25.1 million of its nearly $103 million in unrestricted "rainy day" savings;
- Saving $4.6 million through the closeout of past construction projects or the elimination of planned but "low-priority" projects;
- Relying on $24 million in unanticipated health care savings;
- Shifting $15 million in budgeted costs to be covered by the $160 million allocation of federal stimulus money to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
The $40 million in cuts to departments includes layoffs, eliminating positions and a freeze on nonessential hiring, as well as cuts to equipment, supplies, travel and professional development.
"This was, by far, the hardest part of this," said Deputy Budget Director Benjamin Swanekamp.
The county currently has more than 500 vacant positions, 374 of which are full time.
In addition to abolishing vacant positions, the deficit reduction plan includes laying off 30 Social Services positions, 42 part-time Jail Management and Correctional Health positions, and three provisional employees in the Department of Health, Swanekamp said.
Poloncarz said if Congress comes through with more federal stimulus money to aid Erie County – among other local governments – the priority will be to retain employees slated for layoff and replenish the county's unrestricted savings account.
"We can avoid future layoffs if the federal government comes to assist us, as they've been working on for months now," he said. "That's why I call on the president, the House and the Senate to get a plan done."
If layoffs occur this year, the county would save little because of mandated county payments due to unemployment and the employee cashout of unused time. But Swanekamp said the county is looking ahead to a leaner budget and slow recovery in 2021. With less revenue anticipated next year, county officials view eliminating positions as necessary.
The deficit closure plan also derails the timeline for some high-profile priorities of the Poloncarz administration, such as plans to expand broadband Internet service to all parts of Erie County through the ErieNet initiative, and plans to build a new Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.
"That was never going to move forward unless we got state assistance," Poloncarz said of a new convention center. "2020 was the year I was going to try to raise money for the new convention center. That's just not happening this year."
In addition, the county deficit plan:
- Would delay county building improvement projects;
- Could harm road paving projects covered by general fund dollars, if stimulus money is not provided to help cover the gap. Major road reconstruction projects the county has already borrowed money for would move forward;
- Makes $5.6 million in cuts to agencies that serve children with special needs, ages 3 and 4, with many of those in-person services already scaled back as a result of the pandemic;
- Cuts Department of Social Services outlays by $20.6 million.
Despite the dismal belt-tightening provisions, Poloncarz said the county is fortunate that it saw unexpected health care savings and higher-than-expected sales tax revenue in April and May to keep the deficit to a projected $137.8 million. Early on, the county projected the deficit as high as $220 million.
Thomas Diina, superintendent of the county jails, said the consolidation of inmates at the correctional facility in Alden will free the Holding Center building to be repurposed as a "pre-release" center for inmates.
Instead of housing inmates, Diina said, the building would offer transitional services, expanded mental health services and office space to outside agencies to connect inmates with support services and keep them from returning to jail after their release.
"It’s pretty exciting," he said.
The Holding Center currently has about 300 inmates living in a building with a capacity for 638. The Alden facility has capacity for 744 inmates and currently houses about 223, according county figures.
Even if all inmates were sent to the Alden facility, the building would still be well below capacity.
But Diina cautioned that while county leaders are hopeful the inmate consolidation at Alden will occur this year, that is not a guarantee, especially when the protection of inmates from coronavirus infections is such a high priority.
The Sheriff's Office is still working on spacing arrangements that would minimize the risk of spreading the illness through the inmate population, especially if more inmates are transferred to Alden.
"We are not going to put the inmate population at risk based on finances," Diina said. "As of right now, we have zero confirmed cases. We don’t want to put any inmates at risk unnecessarily."
The deficit closure plan is now in the hands of the Erie County Legislature, which will hold hearings and has 21 days to approve a final budget plan. Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw will also weigh in on the county executive's plan.
Poloncarz said his proposal would be a "rolling" plan adjusted from month to month through the summer, and that not all cuts would be made immediately.
"We don't want to lay off anyone if we can help it," he said.
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