Onondaga County legislators will vote Tuesday to impose a one-year moratorium on the sale of the land Jamesville Correctional Facility sits on if they vote to close it.
The Legislature was set to vote on two proposals that would effectively close Jamesville at a Tuesday afternoon meeting. Ahead of the meeting, two additional items were added to the agenda.
Legislator Brian May, chair of the Legislature’s ways and means committee, will introduce resolutions that:
- Would prevent the sale of the land Jamesville Correctional Facility sits on for one year.
- Would force Sheriff Toby Shelley to create a plan to merge Jamesville Correctional Facility with the Onondaga County Jail by Feb. 28.
Legislators will vote Tuesday on another resolution and a local law that would allow for the county to move Jamesville’s staff to the jail, and set an April 1 deadline for the closure.
May called the resolution giving Shelley a Feb. 28 deadline “housekeeping,” to ensure the New York State Commission of Correction gets the information it needs to evaluate the county’s plan.
The other resolution, which would put a moratorium on the sale of Jamesville, was intended to give the Legislature the time to evaluate whether closing the correctional facility was the right decision, May said.
“This is in response to the time we think is needed to know if this is the right thing to do,” May said of his proposal to prevent Jamesville’s sale for a year.
The county has said it plans to move incarcerated people and corrections staff to the Onondaga County jail to fix a staffing issue. The resolution would allow the Legislature to see if staff from Jamesville actually moves to the jail and fixes the staffing issue.
May said the year moratorium would also allow Gov. Kathy Hochul’s bail reform proposal to play out at the state level.
Both of May’s proposals are contingent on the Legislature voting to approval the closure of Jamesville.
Read more about Jamesville Correctional Facility
Jamesville Correctional Facility: Onondaga County, sheriff debate merger with jail
Officials from the sheriff’s office and county executive’s office offered competing accounts of how to fix a staffing problem at the jail.
Onondaga County Legislature to vote on Jamesville Correctional Facility closure
County Executive Ryan McMahon proposed the closure in December.
State probes Onondaga County’s plan for closing Jamesville Correctional Facility, urges thorough review
The Onondaga County Legislature will review a proposal to close Jamesville and move incarcerated individuals to the Onondaga County jail.
