Stec to Governor Hochul: Want to solve $100 million monthly National Guard costs? Rehire 2,000 COs!

Senator Dan Stec (R,C-Queensbury) today offered a proposal to Governor Hochul after her recent statement that deploying the National Guard inside correctional facilities is costing New York State more than $100 million a month. As part of a way to ease costs, the governor and DOCCS are also planning to grant inmates early release in order to address an ongoing officer staffing shortage.

 

Stec’s proposal is a straightforward one: just rehire the 2,000 correction officers that Governor Hochul banned from all state employment via Executive Order. Based on median officer salary, rehiring 2,000 COs would cost the state $20 million monthly, a vastly lower sum than the governor’s misuse of the National Guard.

 

“If the governor is complaining about the cost of deploying the National Guard inside correctional facilities, there’s an easy solution: just rehire the COs you banned from all state employment,” said Stec. “Continued use of the National Guard in a position they’re ill-suited for and early release for convicted felons because of staffing shortages aren’t the answers. Ending the retributive Executive Order directed toward 2,000 experienced officers who went on strike out of safety concerns is the only logical solution. It provides an immediate boost to prison safety and saves the state $80 million a month.

 

“It’s past time for Governor Hochul to stop waging war on public safety and correction officers. Do the right thing and allow these 2,000 COs to return to correctional facilities.”