To the Greene County Legislature: Pause, by resolution, all continued building and debt obligations related to the current new jail build in Coxsackie until a study of actual population needs is completed, taking into account the bail and pre-trial reforms that recently passed the NYS Legislature. During this time, the Legislature should conduct a feasibility study for a regional/shared jail facility or other approach that will prevent a growth in pre-trial detention in our community and save taxpayers millions of dollars every year for decades to come.
Updates
May 5, 2019
The Legislature continues to ignore the implications of these reforms while the construction costs pile up. Behind the scenes we are gathering the data that county officials refuse to look at themselves. Your interest in this issue proves that we are not the only ones worried about the burden this project puts on our future.
May 5, 2019
Seeing this kind of momentum feels like a weight lifting off my chest as I think about the future of our county. It validates every conversation I have had with neighbors who are worried about the massive debt this project will leave our families with for generations. Please keep talking to people in town because the people at the legislature need to know we are paying attention.
Reached 100 supporters
May 5, 2019
54 Comments
I was a lifelong Catskill resident until a few months ago. The reason I left was for a job opportunity unavailable to me in my hometown or county. We need jobs, not more prisons.
We don't need a tax increase for a new jail just to save a few corrections jobs. With NY criminal justice reforms, it probably won't be necessary anyway. Let's wait and see...
I’ve counted on our Republican representatives to be fiscally responsible. Instead they’re raising our taxes and increasing our debt. This is just wrong.
The legislature should act in the interests of the people of Greene County and not those of vested interests. A new big jail would be a new big mistake , one that would cost us for decades, while health, housing and education projects go unfunded and unrealized.
As a young adult living in Greene County whom is just about to purchase their first home, I would greatly appreciate my taxes not go just so we can build an entirely unnecessary 70 million dollar jail. Let’s be smarter than people give this county credit for folks
Greene County does not need to spend this money when they can share a jail with Columbia county. Our taxes are high enough!!
Incarceration rates are dropping, the state is instituting reforms which continue to lower the number of individuals who will be held in the future, even the County Administrator has reduced the number of beds for the new facility several times! It's time to stop the project NOW. We should be crafting a more compassionate future, not one where some individuals continue to be commodities off of whom others make money. If the state is willing to loan the county $70 million lets use it to address the needs of vulnerable residents.
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To the Greene County Legislature: Pause, by resolution, all continued building and debt obligations related to the current new jail build in Coxsackie until a study of actual population needs is completed, taking into account the bail and pre-trial reforms that recently passed the NYS Legislature. During this time, the Legislature should conduct a feasibility study for a regional/shared jail facility or other approach that will prevent a growth in pre-trial detention in our community and save taxpayers millions of dollars every year for decades to come.
Updates
May 5, 2019
The Legislature continues to ignore the implications of these reforms while the construction costs pile up. Behind the scenes we are gathering the data that county officials refuse to look at themselves. Your interest in this issue proves that we are not the only ones worried about the burden this project puts on our future.
May 5, 2019
Seeing this kind of momentum feels like a weight lifting off my chest as I think about the future of our county. It validates every conversation I have had with neighbors who are worried about the massive debt this project will leave our families with for generations. Please keep talking to people in town because the people at the legislature need to know we are paying attention.
Reached 100 supporters
May 5, 2019
54 Comments
Current jail plan is well over-sized, over-priced, and - given the change in law - unnecessary. Vote to pause this plan and re-visit the issue. A shared-jail in the midst of 650 vacant beds surrounding Greene County presents a “save tax gold” opportunity for us.... and an opportunity to advance REAL needs in our community.
I was a lifelong Catskill resident until a few months ago. The reason I left was for a job opportunity unavailable to me in my hometown or county. We need jobs, not more prisons.
We don't need a tax increase for a new jail just to save a few corrections jobs. With NY criminal justice reforms, it probably won't be necessary anyway. Let's wait and see...
I’ve counted on our Republican representatives to be fiscally responsible. Instead they’re raising our taxes and increasing our debt. This is just wrong.
The legislature should act in the interests of the people of Greene County and not those of vested interests. A new big jail would be a new big mistake , one that would cost us for decades, while health, housing and education projects go unfunded and unrealized.
As a young adult living in Greene County whom is just about to purchase their first home, I would greatly appreciate my taxes not go just so we can build an entirely unnecessary 70 million dollar jail. Let’s be smarter than people give this county credit for folks
Greene County does not need to spend this money when they can share a jail with Columbia county. Our taxes are high enough!!
Incarceration rates are dropping, the state is instituting reforms which continue to lower the number of individuals who will be held in the future, even the County Administrator has reduced the number of beds for the new facility several times! It's time to stop the project NOW. We should be crafting a more compassionate future, not one where some individuals continue to be commodities off of whom others make money. If the state is willing to loan the county $70 million lets use it to address the needs of vulnerable residents.
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Current jail plan is well over-sized, over-priced, and - given the change in law - unnecessary. Vote to pause this plan and re-visit the issue. A shared-jail in the midst of 650 vacant beds surrounding Greene County presents a “save tax gold” opportunity for us.... and an opportunity to advance REAL needs in our community.