Steuben County leadership is in talks with the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) to offer its county-level corrections staff a retirement plan with fewer years of service than is currently in place.
The full-time correction officers in the county must have 30 years of on-the-job experience and be 55 in order to retire with full benefits at this time. County officials are working to lower retirement to 25 years of service.
County Manager Jack Wheeler said this is one way to incentivize civilians as well as state personnel to join the county corrections division that works at the Steuben County Jail.
“We want to offer pay and benefits that make Steuben County a very competitive place to work,” said Wheeler. “So certainly, we strive to do that, not just for pay, but also for retirement benefits.“
Wheeler said he and other officials are working with CSEA to put this option in place for 2026 and beyond.
“There's a lot that goes into changing these retirement plans due to cost and such, so it does require negotiation with the union and that sort of thing,” said Wheeler. “So, not something that can be done quickly, but something that's certainly on the radar.“
Last month, the county legislature passed a resolution to offer approximately 40 people—including the sheriff, undersheriff and deputy sheriffs—20-year retirement benefits. This cost the county $1.2 million to bring the current positions up to that level of retirement, plus an annual cost to the county of $141,000.
It is not known what the cost of the county correction officers’ retirement would be, if adopted.
Earlier this month, Gov. Kathy Hochul terminated 2,000 state prison personnel—and issued an executive order declaring a disaster emergency. The order banned state agencies from hiring or appointing anyone who was employed by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) that participated in the wildcat strike that lasted for three weeks beginning in February but did not return to work by the imposed deadline of March 10.
Anyone who knowingly violated the Taylor Law, a state Supreme Court order, and was terminated for not returning to work by the deadline given by the governor’s office, DOCCS and the union representing correction officers, is included in the hiring ban at state agencies.
According to the executive order, the conduct “undermined the public trust, demonstrated a disregard for the law, and disrupted public services, making them not suitable for public service roles.”
The order also includes a hiring freeze at the county level through April 9. It suspended local laws that would allow hiring these officers until the governor's state of emergency is lifted. It is not clear whether the local public service hiring freeze could be extended beyond that date.
The Steuben County Legislature sent a letter to the governor urging her to reverse the executive order.
“We cannot allow executive overreach to strip away the rights of workers, especially those who serve and protect our communities,” said Kelly Fitzpatrick, chair of the county legislature. “What Governor Hochul is doing is wrong and we stand firmly against it.”
The letter states that Steuben County has “severe staffing shortages” and the executive order “exacerbates the crisis.”
According to the Steuben County Jail superintendent, David Sutton, there are 64 full-time corrections positions at the jail that are currently filled and 15 vacancies. Additionally, there are 23 part-time corrections positions that are currently filled and five open part-time positions.