Fanslau:  "a significant milestone"

MONTICELLO – A possible $10 million savings in the cost of building a new Sullivan County jail was one outcome of a meeting, earlier this week, in Albany, between County Manager David Fanslau and representatives from the Sheriff Department on the one side, and officials of the state Commission of Correction. 

The county has been under pressure to replace the dilapidated century-old jail in Monticello with a new facility, possibly housing up to 500 inmates.  That was scaled back, earlier, to a roughly 250 to 300-inmate jail, at a cost of $80 million.  Now, state officials are indicating they would accept a smaller numb er.

“Getting them to bring that down to 256 is a significant milestone,” said Fanslau, who concedes, however, the county is hard-pressed, right now, to afford even a bargain-basement jail.

Even some county legislators, after hearing the results of Fanslau’s meeting with the CoC, agreed no jail is ‘affordable’ at this point.

“The state needs to realize that we can’t afford this,” said Republican legislator Alan Sorensen, noting that Sullivan is among the top three counties in the state in debt per capita. “I don’t see how Sullivan County can begin to afford this.”

Sorensen warned of dire consequences, if the state does not back up its mandates with money.

“They’re forcing us into a position where we’re going to have to start exploring bankruptcy.”

Maybe a little too dire for Fanslau, who notes the county is still in the black, barely, with a positive fund balance.

“That being said, it becomes a scenario where debt service on a multi-million dollar project is going to have to be funded, in this particular circumstance, through a property tax levy, unless there’s other consideration for other new programs of revenue.”