By MIKE CAPUTO
The Sheriff Officers Association, whose current contract with the county runs through 2012, remains the only union to have failed to reach an agreement with County Executive Tom Suozzi after he introduced a series of cost-cutting measures in February to address the county's budget deficit.
The union's membership, which comprises nearly 1,100 officers, voted against an agreement on July 6, after some five months of negotiations. "As a result of the union's failure to adopt the agreement, the county will be forced to take unilateral actions," said Jennifer Kim, a spokeswoman for Suozzi and the county, which has reached agreements with the civilian employee and police unions.
The measures Kim listed include the elimination of corporal ranking and meal relief at the jail, the civilianization of its Communications Bureau, a change in scheduling for its transportation unit and the redeployment of several officers within the facility's specialty units. The units affected by the redeployments are the canine and gang units, the security patrol, the training staff and the medical sergeant.
Removing meal relief eliminates the need for additional coverage while officers are on break. This would mean more cell time for inmates.
Some of the changes, like the elimination of meal relief, worry officers who are concerned about their safety at the jail. "The problem is that the county has cut the Correctional Center to the bone previous to this," said Michael Adams, ShOA's president. "Making any additional cuts to the facility now becomes dangerous and will probably endanger the officers and the inmates."
Adams added that he believes the county's decision to reduce the canine unit and virtually eliminate the gang unit could lead to an increase in criminal behavior that could negatively impact the communities both inside and outside the jail.
The canine unit, which has been lauded for leading to many drug-related arrests of visitors as well as inmates, would no longer provide regular checks at the jail entrance, a hot spot for trafficking, Adams explained.
He added that the elimination of the corporal ranking would strip 120 officers of supervisory duties, and about 50 sergeants would be needed to take on that workload.
County officials said the rejected agreement included an extension of the union's contract and wages through 2015 and a raise in the top pay from $83,000 to $104,000. But Adams said that the membership vote was likely a stand against years of being treated unfairly compared with other county agencies.
He said that officers are subjected to poor working conditions at the deteriorating Correctional Center. "They feel that we don't have adequate vehicles and equipment, and the building itself is in total disrepair," Adams said. "They feel that the county is not doing anything to make that work environment better.
"At the end of the day, they say they want to be treated fairly, between the work conditions and other issues," he added. "They want the county to take a better look at how they are managing the
facility."
Helen Meittinis, a community leader and a member of the Jail Advisory Committee, said the county has decided to make cuts at the facility without alerting or consulting residents. "When you make changes like this, we should be at the forefront of any of those decisions," Meittinis said. "You are not thinking about your staff and the safety of them, but more than that, you are not thinking of those innocent bystanders that live on the outside of that property."
The jail is on Carman Avenue, next to the Nassau University Medical Center and across the street from East Meadow High School and Eisenhower Park. Several residential neighborhoods are within walking distance, including senior living communities.
Richard Cardozo, another member of the Jail Advisory Committee, said it remains unclear how the changes will impact security at the jail and the surrounding community. "They will make it seem doom-and-gloom," Cardozo said of the officers, "but I have to see the facts first."
Cardozo and Meittinis said that the advisory committee, which is composed of local community leaders, is scheduled to address the changes - with county representatives on hand - at its next meeting, set for Friday afternoon.
Comments about this story? MCaputo@
liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
