Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck is once again facing difficulties as he works to create a 2026 budget.
In an open letter, the sheriff said planning the 2026 budget is the most challenging one to date he’s had to plan since becoming sheriff.
One factor in the challenge is increasing labor costs. Sheriff Schenck called required overtime the primary driver of the anticipated cost increases. In the letter, the sheriff said there are currently 14 vacancies in the custody division, mainly caused by a large number of employees reaching their retirement age. He added that deputies are being lost at a faster rate than replacements can be recruited. This staffing shortage has caused shifts to be filled with overtime, increasing labor costs.
“Using more and more overtime funding is not only costly, but also not sustainable nor safe for our employees,” wrote Sheriff Schenck.
The sheriff hopes to work with the custody division to update their contract, leading to the reduced need to rely on overtime and an increase in hiring and staff retention. The current labor agreement with the custody division ends at the end of this year.
Other factors impacting the budget include contractual salary increases and increases to health insurance benefit costs. To help offset the increased costs, Sheriff Schenck said his office will delay some vehicle and equipment purchases.
Sheriff Schenck invites the public to share their thoughts with him at [email protected].
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