A State Supreme Court judge this week is expected to hear a case that could determine the future of the Jamesville Correctional Facility.
Onondaga County Sheriff Toby Shelley filed a lawsuit last June — contending the county legislature had no right to pass a law that paves the way for the closure of Jamesville and relocation of inmates to the downtown Justice Center.
The potential merger has been controversial from the start. County Executive Ryan McMahon proposed the idea a year ago, saying it is needed to meet the arraignment needs of a lawsuit, as well as ease staffing shortages in the corrections department. He said the county has been working with the State Department of Corrections to make improvements at the downtown jail to accommodate more inmates, and is optimistic a judge will side with the county.
"And if he finds that the sheriff has no merit in his argument, which we believe he will, then we will work on the transition from Jamesville to the downtown Justice Center," McMahon said.
Shelley meanwhile, said the hearing comes at a time when the jail has been overcrowded for months. Jamesville takes up the slack now for overflow situations have been the norm every day since mid-October.
"Our population's up and down depending on what's going on, the weather, the full moon, all that," Shelley said. "But since October 15, we would have to take at least 25 to 50 inmates a day somewhere else."
Shelley said the problem with that, is there’s no room in nearby jails. The nearest available space would be near Rochester.
"The closest one is Monroe County and I've talked to Sheriff [Todd] Baxter," Shelley said. "He has a similar situation like we do here. He has two jails. So he will allow us to take our inmates there, but he has no staff to support us. So I'd have to provide the labor. So in effect, I'd be opening another jail in another county, which is an hour and a half away."
Shelley said he’ll pass the overflow numbers along to his attorney, but admits they have no real bearing on the lawsuit.
"Does the county legislature have the power to tell the sheriff what to do is kind of what the argument is," Shelley said. "But the real meat and potatoes is this would not work. If we close Jamesville, we will be in an overflow situation. It does not work."
