BUFFALO, N.Y. — A new jail for the Erie County Sheriff's Office is not in the new 2025 county budget plan now up for debate by the county legislature, but lawmakers may have to decide in the future how to deal with the rapidly aging correctional facilities.
2 On Your Side had a chance to cover that very expensive subject in depth with the sherriff on Wednesday afternoon.
Sheriff John Garcia told us, "I was caught off guard with the number. All of us were."
Garcia is still trying to comprehend a consultant's report estimating a $700 million or more price-tag for taxpayers to build a new facility to house 800 or more inmates in Erie County. It would replace the existing 96-year-old holding center downtown and the newer, but perhaps less accessible, correctional facility out in Alden.
The Republican sheriff noted that just like an old house, things go wrong.
"This past year we had close to 120 jail cells that were down for maintenance, and the issues were plumbing, electrical, locking mechanisms. That puts a bigger strain on our staff," Garcia said.
Of course, that same report estimates a $250 million cost just to keep up and upgrade the existing two facilities.
"This is something that 75 years from now they'll be looking back to see what we did," Garcia said. "We see that this was built in 1938. Here we are in 2024. The model then was so no one can escape. We're in 2024, we're talking about programming, cutting back on recidivism ... an environment that's healthy for our staff."
Another idea which has been suggested before is for Erie County to buy an existing building for conversion. Examples might be maybe the former Blue Cross Blue Shield Genesee Street structure, or again, even the currently vacant Buffalo Grand Hotel, which is still under a financial cloud.
Garcia said, "Is there a building that could be reconfigured and save a few hundred million dollars in concrete and, you know, steel beams and whatever else?"
Whatever he decides, Garcia would have make the case for taxpayers by stressing what he feels to be cost savings, especially if he pushes for that $700 million new build option, which would require county bonding. That is basically a loan for taxpayers with interest.
"If you bond $700 million over 30 years, it's going to be approximately $35 to $36 million a year," Garcia said.
He then added, "We can't build a $700 million jail and not show savings. But the study group has advised that in this new jail, we would need less staff."
Garcia claims that by stretching that idea of less jail staffing and other cost savings, like less prisoner transport over those 30 years, it might end up making financial sense with a consolidated modern building for more efficient and humane supervision of inmates.