Onondaga County Sheriff Gene Conway is asking the county to allocate around just more than $600,000 so the Sheriff’s Department can purchase more patrol vehicles.
Conway detailed the ask during the Onondaga County Legislature's week-long review of the county executive's proposed budget for 2023.
At a review of public safety department budgets on Wednesday, Conway said the agency's vehicles serve as the lifeblood of the department.
"But in custody, we need to transport people. We have to transport them to the court. We have to transport them to the doctor's appointments. We have to transport them when they've been sentenced to stay at facility. We have detectives that respond to calls after hours," Conway said.
The sheriff told legislators the current supply and demand issues make acquiring any vehicle challenging, and they’ve fallen behind in building their fleet.
Conway said the department would also need money to recycle materials from old vehicles and purchase equipment for the new ones. The department’s current budget for vehicles is $325,000, which Conway said covers seven vehicles. The vehicle budget has been the same since 2018.
The sheriff's department is also looking for funding for travel and training.
"Our travel and training budget is not only just for deputies going to training, it’s mixed in with our obligation to go and bring back people to this area who have taken off, who have fled," Conway said.
Conway added that giving deputies helicopter training, also known as Air One training, will be covered by what is in the budget. County lawmakers will issue a final review of all department spending plans proposed in the 2023 budget on Thursday. A public hearing is set for Oct. 6.
