Sheriff Office Expansion

[thomassensepayne]

Wow our sheriff department is getting BIG. First let me say I am glad we have a sheriff department for Madison County but, how big is to big and why all the property? The sheriff dept is based out of the jail complex which is relatively new and seems large enough to suit our needs, but now we have sheriff buildings everywhere.
When Emergency Management got their new building (the EOC center) built at Harvey Green and SR 14, the sheriff took over all the square footage vacated by the EOC staff. Then the sheriff dept took over the building next to the court house annex. Then the sheriff dept took over the recycling building at the road dept on Rocky Ford and they now have an annex in Greenville. EMS bought the old Ford dealership for their new location because their old station was condemned, which I believe was a good reason for them to move, but now the sheriff is taking most of the Ford dealership too and taking over the square footage vacated by EMS and dispatch. Dispatch is being moved from the jail which will cost thousands of dollars to relocate to the Ford dealership with no increase in benefits and Juan Botino is moving from the jail to the Ford dealership and the sheriff gets that square footage also. The sheriff is also taking over several of the ten bays at the new EMS station for his cars and the top floor of the new EMS is also being considered for sheriff/other county use and the small shed outside of the new EMS station is being taken over for a new weight room for sheriff dept employees leaving EMS with a much smaller station then the citizens were lead to believe. I also have a question that maybe someone can answer and that is if the 1/2 penny sales tax voted on by the citizens for EMS is being used to pay for the Ford property purchase, is it legal for the sheriff, dispatch and other county agencies to use this money for their buildings.
New Jail, EOC square footage, EMS square footage, Dispatch square footage, new annex on court square, new annex in Greenville, new facilities at road dept, most of the Ford dealership's bays and interior square footage, new weight room, new dive boat, and I have to wonder when the old EMS building is torn down who will confiscate that property and build more square footage on it??
I would like to see more deputies patrolling the streets instead of holed up in buildings scattered from top to bottom in our county. Bless our deputies for the job they do but I wonder where this liberal expansion of big government is coming from and is this the best way to spend OUR tax money?

[dobbie]

I'm glad someone else is noticing the wide spread of our taxes. We pay a lot of taxes to have a sheriff dept. and other agents in madison county. But the service is not what it should be. I've seen deputies pull up to convience stores and other places that I will not name and set and idle for one and a half to two hours at a time. while the deputy is either asleep or running that mouth. This can be proved too.

[keithward]

Looks like the writer has no idea what they are talking about.

When the EOC got there new building of course the Sheriff's Department took over the square footage because it was in the jail complex and the EOC was being allowed to use it until there building was completed. It was not actually "taken over" it was just remanded back to the Sheriff's Department for use.

The Sheriff's department had a new office built next to the courthouse annex to accommodate the seating of a circuit judge in Madison County. The Sheriff's Office vacated the square footage in the courthouse to give Circuit Judge Parker the location for his office.

I have no idea what you are talking about with the recycling building on Rocky Ford. First off the building used for the recycling building was acquired by the waste department from the Sheriff's Department after it was seized during a drug case "Valverdie" back in the 1980's. It has always been and still is used for recycling center. The building the Sheriff's Office has at the road department was built for and used as a hanger for the Sheriff's Department plane which Pete Bucher sold once he took office. The building was then and up until now used for special operations. The Sheriff's Department Has always had this since it was new in the 1980's, not something recently acquired.

The annex in Greenville has been there for 7 or 8 years now, not something that just happened. It is donated space by Tri-County Electric in there Greenville office that deputies use to do there paperwork when assigned in Greenville so they can be close if they are needed and not have to drive the 15 miles from Madison to respond for an emergency.

"The Sheriff is taking most of the Ford dealership too" WHAT BS? Yes the talk is that dispatch will be moved to the new building and some of the bays will be utilized by the Sheriff's Department. The Sheriff's Department has been dispatching for EMS which consist of 1/3 of dispatched calls forever without compensation. The current dispatch center consist of 13 computers and up to 4 dispatchers at one time in a 10' x 16' room which gets really cramped. There are 10 bays in the Ford building and only 5 or 6 ambulances (including spares) so do the math wouldn't it be a good idea for the Sheriff's Department to use the unused bays?

As far the square footage taken over after Juan leaves his office… Again it is in the Sheriff's Department jail complex and Juan has been allowed to use it. It belongs to the Sheriff's department not EMS. It will not actually be "taken over" it will just be remanded back to the Sheriff's Department for use.

If the small building outside the new EMS is being used for a weight room then it only makes sense. The current weight room is also housed in the current condemned EMS building and is available to all county employees. It is currently being used by several EMS employees and other county employees. Not just the Sheriff's Department.

It Is obvious from your letter that you are an EMS employee who is either new here or did not do much research before you wrote it. Check your facts.