Back when Niagara County's population was much bigger...the County Jail (and the Sheriff's Department) was much smaller. Then County politicians adopted a "big government" mode of operation and one of the first things to expand was the jail and the Sheriff's Department. The convenient complex across from the County Courthouse was torn down and a new complex was built outside the city off Niagara Street Extension. The County's population decreased more but the Sheriff's Department continued to balloon in size. A few years ago, the department had gotten so big that more room was necessary. The complex off Niagara Street Extension had to be expanded, the Sheriff said. He said there was plenty of room to build a huge jail expansion and the County would actually make money by renting out surplus cells to the State and Federal government. No matter that Niagara County population was continuing to decline. A portion of the multi-million dollar state-of-the-art expansion is shown in the picture below.
Now, in August 1999, the Sheriff reportedly told County Legislators that he needed more money because the State of New York no longer was paying about $300,000 a year to rent cells for felons awaiting transfer to state jails. And the United States Marshall's Office no longer needed to pay $635,000 to rent space for its prisoners since it built its own detention center in Batavia. Surprise! Niagara County Taxpayers will be expected to make up the difference. And also pay for $154,000 in raises to jail employees! The new County Jail budget, approved by the Legislature, has now soared to $9,041,834! And the County population continues to decline!
For the record, below is a picture of the Niagara County Jail in Lockport when our county population was much bigger, back in the 1950's. The major part of the front of the jail consisted of the residence of the County's Sheriff-In-Residence (and his family). An underground tunnel permitted taking prisoners across Niagara Street to the County Court House for appearance as needed with excellent security. (8/29)
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