SENATOR RITCHIE THANKS GOVERNOR FOR SAVING OUR PRISONS
State Senator Patty Ritchie today personally thanked Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his decision to spare five state prisons in Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties from further budget cuts.
Sen. Ritchie was with the Governor in suburban Syracuse for a bill signing event for New York’s new Property Tax Cap law, a measure designed to end runaway state property taxes and get the state back on track to creating jobs.
Following the formal ceremony, Senator Ritchie spoke with the Governor about the prisons in Northern New York.
"I thanked him for keeping Ogdensburg and Watertown, and all five prisons in Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties open," Senator Ritchie said. "I knew that our Governor was a man of his word, and when he said he would look beyond Albany’s needs to truly understand what these prisons mean to our communities—already reeling from the weak national economy—that he would make the right choice.
"When judged on issues ranging from personnel and operations costs, overtime, absenteeism, staff and inmate safety, ‘unusual incidents,’ and other factors, our facilities are among the best run in the state. Our corrections officers and staff take pride in their work, and the results prove it," Senator Ritchie said.
"Our entire community deserves credit for standing up to fight for the prisons, jobs and communities of St. Lawrence and Jefferson County. We all understood what these facilities mean to the North Country. And now Albany does too. We showed that when a community comes together, great things happen."
