BUFFALO, N.Y. – Erie County Sheriff John C. Garcia announced today that an analysis of the 2025 budget shows the Erie County Sheriff’s Office overperformed on revenue expectations and saved millions on budgeted expenses.
Revenues for the year totaled approximately $6.9 million, $2.3 million over expectation. The overperformance is largely due to a $1.9 million payment from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). This revenue source is associated with a backlog of incarcerated individuals who were unable to be transferred to DOCCS custody in a timely manner due to the state prison strike. DOCCS reimburses counties $100 per day for each state-ready incarcerated individual if they have been held in local custody for more than 10 days after earning state-ready status. While the reimbursement from the state is welcome, it insufficiently covers the burden associated with our inflated jail census through most of 2025, especially on Jail Management Division personnel who were required to work multiple forced overtime shifts throughout the year.
Despite additional expenses associated with incarcerating state-ready individuals for an extended period of time, expenses for the Jail Management Division and Correctional Health Division still came in $8.5 million under budget. Across all divisions, the Erie County Sheriff’s Office came in $4.9 million under budget on its consumable budget expenses.
“We all want to live and work in safe neighborhoods. This priority requires investment in our law enforcement,” said Sheriff Garcia. “At the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, our top priority is to provide quality public safety services. That being said, I take very seriously my expectation to be responsible with our county tax dollars. Each penny we spent in 2025 went toward fulfilling our mission. We are continuing this effort in 2026.”