Candidate reflects on 8 yrs. as sheriff, shares thoughts on jail, and advisability of closure plan

Christopher Farber is seeking re-election as Herkimer County Sheriff, a post he has held for the past eight years, because he enjoys the people and the job, but also because he believes he is still the best person to handle the challenges for the taxpayers.

“I am also pleased with the accomplishments we have made so far,” he said.

Farber said there have been advances in the civil office, and improvements to pistol permits, information sharing, and technology.

“Most of this we have acquired through outside grants,” he said.

Of course the county’s jail closure process, which started before he took office, has involved Farber.

His role, he said, has been to assess the needs of county law enforcement, including the safety and efficiency of the jail, and to report those findings to the county legislature.

“I don’t decide if the jail is built; I don’t decide where the jail goes; and I don’t decide what the size of the jail is,” he said.

But from his vantage point, as someone intimately acquainted with the present jail and its operations—as well as the need to responsibly serve the taxpayers—Farber said he can’t fault the decision to build a new jail.

He said there’s no such thing as a “shared jail,” an option that has been suggested. Each county is required by law to operate a jail, he said.

And the current situation that has Herkimer County boarding out the bulk of its prisoners to other counties is not a reasonable or cost-effective solution over the long term, he said.

Also, the idea of a “regional jail,” though attractive in theory, tends to break down when it hits the real world, according to Farber.

“A regional facility may make sense if neighboring counties were both in need of a new facility. They could conceivably locate the jail on the county line,” he said.

This type of facility would have separate wings for each county’s inmates.

“In the center could be a shared services area for kitchen and medical—things of that nature,” he said.

But unlike Herkimer County, Oneida County is not in the market for a new jail at this time.

“They just built one several years ago,” Farber said.

Which doesn’t mean the idea would necessarily work anyway, according to Farber.

Other New York State counties that have tried to establish regional jails have ended up pulling the plugs, he said, as various aspects proved unworkable.

Herkimer County’s jail problem can be traced back to 1979, when the current facility was built, according to Farber.

It was a bad design almost right out of the box, he said.

“As soon as it was open and operating, it started becoming apparent just how much staff would be needed to run it in a safe and secure manner,” he said.

It takes too many officers to watch too few inmates, Farber said.

“Over its lifetime, the cost of the jail facility itself amounts to only about 10 percent of the the jail’s total cost. So obviously manpower—the staffing of the facility—is something you really need to pay attention to. That’s the largest cost of operating a correctional facility,” he said.

Another problem that came to be recognized was the jail’s inability to accommodate a growing inmate population.

“It’s in an area where there’s no room to build around it,” Farber said.

And though the jail’s recreational arrangements were suitable when built, they eventually failed to satisfy state rules.

So, a new outdoor area had to be built on the roof.

In recent years, however, the state found that the roof-top rec area had to go. Engineers found that its weight was unacceptable, and that high winds could cause a hazardous situation.

“We now have a temporary outdoor rec area. It does not meet the standards, so we are only allowed to operate on a variance,” Farber said.

Needless to say it has been a challenge in carrying forth while a final fix is arranged. But Farber added that he is proud of what his department has been able to accomplish in the interim.

“We have kept our inmates in our facility instead of having it closed down. We have worked with the Commission of Correction to maintain our maximum facility capacity, instead of having all our inmates boarded out. This has saved our county millions of dollars over the last five years,” he said.

Farber is also satisfied with the decisions he has made while in office. He said he has always worked to do the right thing, which is not always the easy thing.

“Obviously the easiest thing for me would be to board out all the inmates. Then I would not have the responsibility or liability of having inmates in our local jail. But that’s not the right thing to do for taxpayers. This year we’ll be paying $950,000 to board our inmates in other counties. I personally would rather keep that money invested in our own county,” he said.

Others disagree however, as Farber is well aware.

“I think the controversy stems from NIMBYs [Not In My Back Yard]. And the fact that people have axes to grind. They have political motives in mind, and aren’t receptive to the true facts. So they are projecting false truths,” Farber said.

Sheriff Farber will be running against challenger Tim Klock on Election Day, November 8th.