Beaty, Whitehead say NYS policy may let County save millions on jail

By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor

Warren County could potentially save “millions” of dollars by following new state guidelines for staffing at the county jail, Doug Beaty and Travis Whitehead told the county’s Criminal Justice Committee meeting Tuesday.

The men said New York State acknowledges its initiatives like bail reform and Raise the Age regarding youth offenders have led to fewer incarcerations — and so less staffing is needed.

Mr. Beaty, Queensbury At-Large member of the County Board, and Mr. Whitehead, government watchdog and candidate for Queensbury Town Board in Ward Four, shared documents suggesting Warren County Jail may be overstaffed by as many as 14 positions, under new State Corrections Commission guidelines.

‘One time the state may help…’

“Information that’s come to light from New York State Department of Corrections is driving this,” Mr. Beaty said.

Noting the state’s history of unfunded mandates, Mr. Beaty said, “This is one time where New York State and the Department of Corrections have come to all the counties, not just Warren County, and said…‘We’ve got some suggestions on how you can reduce your financial obligations.’ We’ve got to take that seriously.

“As Budget Officer [Nate] Etu has said, there’s millions of dollars we need to shave so we don’t break the tax cap, so when something like this comes along, it’s only right that we give it a thorough and full discussion.”

Mr. Beaty said, “The jail currently is well run. I’m proud of it. But when the Department of Corrections in the state say, ‘Hey, maybe you can do other things in other ways,’ we’ve got to listen to them.”

Mr. Whitehead said that in 2013 the State Corrections Commission increased minimum staffing levels at Warren County Jail by about 16 full-time positions from what was previously required.

He said “the Board had to add the personnel to accommodate this mandate, which has cost us over $2 million a year.”

Then, in December 2024, he said, came a memo from State Corrections that pointed to recent “incarcerated population reductions attributable to bail reform and Raise the Age.”

Based on that, said the state memo, “Numerous local jails have been able to shutter multiple housing units within the facility…reducing the overall numbers of required staff.”

Mr. Whitehead said he filed Freedom of Information Law, a.k.a. FOIL, requests for state staffing reports for Warren County, and comparable jails in Washington and St. Lawrence Counties.

He said both other counties requested new staffing assessments in 2025, after the state memo, and both have reduced staffing as a result.

Mr. Whitehead said he then FOILed for state assessments regarding any of the state’s 62 county jails.

He told The Chronicle that when he received those reports earlier this month, he was surprised to see “included in that release was an August 2025 re-assessment for our County as well.”

He said it is “something we were never provided,” when FOILing for such reports from Warren County itself.

“That State Corrections assessment shows 9.5 fewer posts or about a staffing reduction of 14 positions,” he told the Criminal Justice committee on Tuesday.

“That new State requirement took it back to near 2004 staffing levels and would be a savings of about $2 million every year.”

He said, looking at “nearly identical” data for St. Lawrence County, the savings might be “over $3 million a year.”

“Just on the state recommendations for Warren County alone we are looking at substantial annual savings, with no loss of taxpayer services,” Mr. Whitehead said.

The Committee members agreed to the request by Mr. Beaty and Mr. Whitehead to add the topic as an official discussion item at their next meeting, scheduled for Monday morning, August 24.

Mr. Beaty and Mr. Whitehead asked to be included as participants in that meeting, along with Budget Officer Mr. Etu and Sheriff Jim LaFarr.

Copyright © 2026 Lone Oak Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights Reserve