Judicial & Public Safety Committee - Regular Meeting

CALL TO ORDER: By Hon. Mark Strong, Chair

MINUTES TO APPROVE: August 12, 2026

APPOINTMENTS: None

PRESENTATIONS: Senior executives from NYS Indigent Legal Services

- Nora Christenson -Criminal Defense Representation Chief - Margaret Phillips - Attorney-in-Charge of the Western New York Regional Support Center - Sarah Bertozzi - Criminal Defense Representation Counsel - Alan McReynolds - Senior Resource Support and Data Specialist - Kevin Roman - Family Court Representation Counsel

Policy Matters for Committee

- Staffing/hiring update - Tentative hire going through pre-employment screening - 3 ESDs trainer certification underway - 3 trainees have started on-the-floor call-taker training

Emergency Communications System

- Locke beacon light and Summerhill antenna repairs have been scheduled - Cato tower generator radiator replacement complete - Held kick-off meeting for Motorola Vesta (forthcoming new phone system); doing site walks at Cayuga and Oswego on 9/21

Lloyd Hoskins (Assigned Counsel) –

- There were 58 arraignments at the Centralized Arraignment Program for the month of August. The Assigned Counsel office calendared fourteen attorneys to cover the 7am and 7pm arraignments. The attorney cost associated with CAP for August was $10,360.00. These expenses were paid from an ILS (Indigent Legal Services) grant. Of the 58 arraignments, 39 (67%) were for town/village courts, 18 (32%) were for Auburn City Court and 1 (1%) was for County Court. 34 (59%) defendants were released (ROR) and 24 (41%) defendants were held on bail or held for other reasons. Of the 58 arraignments, 15 (26%) were brought in on arrest/bench warrants. 19 Orders of Protection were issued. - There were 52 Counsel at First Appearance for Auburn City Court and 10 Counsel at First Appearance in town/village courts. The Assigned Counsel office calendared sixteen attorneys to cover the “on-call” arraignments. The attorney cost associated with Counsel at First Appearance for August was $10,618.00. These expenses were paid from an ILS (Indigent Legal Services) grant. - The Assigned Counsel office made attorney assignments to 43 defendants in Auburn City Court, 5 defendants in County Court and 41 defendants in Justice courts for August. A total of 34 assignments were made in Family Court. - The Assigned Counsel Office received notice from NYS Indigent Legal Services that our three-year contract for our “Distribution” funding will be $580,008.00. This funding will reimburse Cayuga County 100% of our Felony/Misdemeanor drug court, Domestic Violence /Mental Health Monitoring Court, Behavioral Health Court, and some of our complex legal cases.

Dr. Adam Duckett (Coroner) – No updates

Brittany Antonacci (District Attorney) –

• Grand Jury Indictments for month of August: 32 ○ July: 28 ○ September to date: 13 • Jury trial: People v Anthony Crawford (Assault First, Assault 2nd, and Strangulation Second) ○ Felony Jury trials to date: 5 ○ Felony bench trials: 1 (murder 2nd) • OVS State funding increased

Riley Shurtleff (Emergency Services) - No updates

Tyrone Thomas (Probation) –

• We will be sending our newest officer to Jefferson County to do the first part of his initial training later this month. • We have an older fleet of vehicles and the maintenance to keep these vehicles on the road continues to be a problem. • There is increased discussion and push by OPCA/DCJS regarding increasing the Block Grant given to Probation.

Brian Schenck (Sheriff) –

• At the time of this report, we are holding 128 incarcerated individuals in the jail. We have 11 Federal and 1 local board-ins. We also have 18 NY State Parolees detained for new charges and 2 Parolees detained for a violation of parole. We were able to bring our female population back to our local jail for the time being; however, that may change at any given time. • We are actively recruiting to fill our Fiscal Officer position. • We have been working on new initiatives to address recruiting as we continue to struggle filling open positions. • September marks the 25th Anniversary of the September 11th attacks. We will be participating in local ceremonies to honor those we have lost, including Undersheriff Steve McLoud (retired) who passed away in 2019 as a result of an illness stemming from his response to NY City immediately following the attacks. • August was another busy month with community outreach / recruiting, calls for service, and events such as the Great Race. • We will be preparing to remove our boats from the water as the summer season ends. Due to challenging staffing levels, we were unable to provide significant coverage on our lakes this summer.

Authorizing the Legislature to create two budgeted Emergency Services (HELP) positions in the 911 Center.

Authorizing the Chair of the Cayuga County Legislature to execute an approved 2026 -2027 Gun Involved Violence Elimination) Initiative (GIVE) grant award to the Cayuga County Probation Department in the amount of $90,800.00.

Authorizing the Chair of the Legislature to execute an approved 2026-2027 Statewide Targeted Reductions in Intimate Partner Violence (STRIVE) grant award to the Cayuga County Probation Department in the amount of $12,840.00

Authorizing the Cayuga County Legislature and Cayuga County Sheriff to create a contract with the Southern Cayuga Central School District (SCCS) to provide one (1) full-time Special Patrol Officer employed by the Sheriff's Office to the SCCS to provide School Resource Officer Services and creating and filling one Special Patrol Officer position for said purpose.

Authorizing the Sheriff to transfer monies within the Sheriff's 2026 Budget to address overtime costs in the jail due to a lack of staffing.

ADJOURNMENT: Wednesday, October 14, 2026