Cutting the sheriff’s road patrols

To the editor:

I am writing to you in response to the recent article in the Leader Herald to express my concerns about the proposed cuts regarding the sheriff’s patrols.  

Every Town in Fulton County relies on the Sheriff’s Patrols and The State Police for their police protection and any further cuts would jeopardize their safety and well being.  It is a well known fact that the State Police do not have the manpower to handle the current case load without the help of the Sheriff’s Dept. Kevin Lenahan and Christina Van Valkenburgh are dedicated Officers who have always strived to do the best job possible with less resources than most other police departments and now they expect them to do even more with less.

It is quite obvious that the Board of Supervisors just doesn’t get when a Town Supervisor makes the statement “we feel your pain” after she voted against a pay decrease at the county level and voted herself a pay increase at the town level. They weren’t asking for pay increases they want the county to maintain current staffing levels so they can continue to provide vital police services.

When I think of the thousands of dollars this legislative body has spent on things that were not needed, it makes me sick. They spent $4.5 million dollars on a water line to the airport, B.O.C.E.S. and Fulton Montgomery Community College. How much of a profit did the airport generate and how much money did Montgomery County give to this project, a project that will cost Fulton County taxpayers close to $10 million dollars before it’s paid for.

The monies that are being spent on a study for another Industrial Park, which will be located in the City of Johnstown, and benefit no one but the City. There is an industrial park in the City of Gloversville that is only half full. Do we need another park to provide jobs for the surrounding counties while they continue to build retail businesses and rake in the sales tax revenues?

Everyone knows that budgets are tight and that we all have to do what we can to control property taxes, but cutting our public safety monies is not the answer. We rely on the County Sheriff for not only police protection, but also the dispatching of fire and ambulance personal. Further cuts would jeopardize response times and lives.

There may never be a better time to say “no.” to unfunded state mandates.

James K. Groff

Mayor