On February 7th, there will be a vote on whether or not to close the Onondaga County Jamesville Correction Facility and merge the two jails in the county.  In the eyes of most of the County Legislators, they believe this will solve the understaffing issue.  However, they would not be accomplishing their goal and instead they would be opening up a can of new problems. 

Closing Onondaga County Jamesville Correction Facility will not only displace the current workers but it will cause them to take a pay cut, a demotion, force people to take early retirement, be forced to go on unemployment, leave the county all together for equal or higher pay for the same job, or start over in a new career.  My father is one of these people.  He would take a yearly pay cut of $7,000 - $22,000.  My father would be forced to retire early. 

Rosemary has been employed for almost 20 years as a counselor and she would be loosing her job as they are not carrying her job over to the Justice Center and the legislators have not offered her any other position. Rosemary watched my sister and I grow up.  She was one of the first ones to ask us if we needed anything when my sister became very ill.

Growing up with a dad who has helped build the Onondaga County Jamesville Correction Facility's classification, programs and as a primary contact person for attorneys and others in the community; many of his coworkers have seen my sister and I grow up.  I lost my sister and best friend in October 2020.  It was unexpected and gut wrenching.  One thing we could count on was my father's co-workers and their support.

Many of the employees have a family and kids that they need to take care of.  Elderly parents to think about and care for.  Law enforcement positions are tough enough without the added stress of wondering "Will I still have a job?", "Will I be able to provide for my family?", "Will I be able to help put my kids through college?", "My parents are older, I took this job so I could stay close to them". 

There are other options instead of closing Onondaga County Jamesville Correction Facility.  Bringing back federal inmates would bring money to the jail and county.  Allow civilians to be employed by the department would help with the staffing shortage and others.   

Please sign this petition to show support for the Onondaga County Jamesville Correction Facility employees and the facility as a whole.  Let the county legislature know this will not only affect the employees, but their families and the community.  What may be right in the moment may not be right in the long run.

Please sign to show your support to keep the Onondaga County Jamesville Correction Facility open.