Paul Szmal: FLX Morning continues, it is 8.39, we have some light rain moving through portions of the Finger Lakes, temperature has bumped up to 40. Joined now by Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck, good morning Brian, how are you?
Brian Schenck: Good morning Paul, I'm doing great, I hope you're doing well.
Paul Szmal: Yes, doing very well, and well, let's get right to the big news that came out just the other day when you put a release out and you're not seeking a third term as Sheriff.
Brian Schenck: I'm not, I'm going to finish out this term, which is my second four-year term, so I'll have eight years as Sheriff at the end of next year, but I've thought about this decision really long and hard for the last few months, and after almost 30 years with our Sheriff's Office I've determined it's time for me to take a new path and do some different things, and I'm excited about that, but I'm going to deeply miss being a part of our Sheriff's Office and certainly having the role as Sheriff, it's just been really an honor and it's an incredible job, but I do need to move on to some different things and I will be doing that at the end of the next year.
Paul Szmal: So this isn't exactly a retirement, it's just a shift in focus.
Brian Schenck: It is, I'm young enough where I hope to still be able to work for a little bit, doing some things that I love and giving back to the community, and I think I'm just going to slow down a little bit and try to make a little bit more time for family and doing some of the things that I like, and while I love the job that I do now, it is extremely demanding and it is really a 24-7 job that really never stops, and it really has taken time from the family and time from things that I would like to do if I had a little bit more time, and I'm just at a point in my life where I'm looking ahead and saying, you want to take advantage of those years while you can still do some of the things that you want to, and I think it's time to pass the reins on, and again, I've thought long and hard about it and it will be tough to leave, but I'm very excited about the new opportunities and having some additional time moving forward.
Paul Szmal: We're talking with Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck here on FLX Morning on Finger Lakes News Radio. You've been working on your portion of the 2026 Cayuga County budget, and there's going to be a couple of cuts here that are of note.
Brian Schenck: Sure, so I think it's no secret our county budget is in really, really tough shape. We're facing countywide an almost $10 million budget deficit that somehow the legislature has to make up through cuts, and unfortunately, tax increases it looks like, but every department and entity within our county government is going to be impacted by this next budget and there will be some cuts, and for us, in the draft budget, the legislature has eliminated a vacant deputy sheriff road patrol position that we have and one marked patrol unit to go along with that position along with some funding and training and those types of things, but before presenting my draft budget, I made as many cuts as I could. We put off a lot of equipment purchases. We've tried to reduce spending in any area that we can without reducing the amount of law enforcement services that we provide, but we have some things that are really driving our budget increases, and those are primarily salary and labor costs, health insurance costs, and that's difficult because we try to find a fine balance where we can offer competitive salaries and benefits in our central New York region that will attract a qualified workforce. As we've talked about many times, it's very difficult right now to recruit folks to law enforcement jobs, and we're trying to make sure that our salaries and benefits are in a place where we can do that competitively, so with that, we've seen some increases in those areas over the last few years, and that's what's driving our budget increases here with the sheriff's office, but if it weren't for that, this year would be pretty flat compared to last year's budget, but those costs are going up along with inflation, and we're feeling that pain.
Paul Szmal: I think it'd be safe to say that budgeting, especially in this day and age, is one of the more difficult aspects of the job.
Brian Schenck: That's extremely difficult, and what's challenging for me is I understand that we can't keep going back to the taxpayer and asking for more and more and more, but our costs are going up immensely year over year, and we're at a point where if we're going to offer the same law enforcement services and response that we have traditionally, those costs are going to go up, and we have such a big county, 700-square-mile county, that we try to cover with not very many cars on a particular shift, and I really don't see how we can reduce that number with the response times that we have, and there's a lot of mandates in the jail, mandates, things that we're required to provide, and we certainly need to maintain a jail-safe environment for certainly staff and the inmate population, but our costs there are significantly going up, too, so, yeah, budgeting is very challenging, trying to make sure that you're doing it responsibly and not continually going back to the taxpayer without good reason. That's been a very challenging part of my job, and I'm sure for every department head within county government.
Paul Szmal: Now, you mentioned recruiting, and that is always kind of an ongoing thing, but there is a recruiting open house that is coming up next week.
Brian Schenck: It is, so we're going to have one on the 18th, I believe that's Tuesday, the 18th at 5 p.m. here at our Sheriff's Office, so anybody that might be interested in seeking a career, even if you're not sure, you're kind of on the fence, but just want to learn a little more, I would encourage you to join us next week on the 18th here at the Sheriff's Office, and you'll get to meet people that work here and can talk a little bit about the job and help you learn how you can pursue this career path if you'd like to do that.
Paul Szmal: And also coming up in December, there is going to be a Red Cross blood drive at the Sheriff's Office.
Brian Schenck: There is. We do these two times a year right here at our Sheriff's Office, and we usually get between 20 and 30 donors, some people from our agency, and then outside folks will come and donate, but we would encourage anyone that is willing or able to give blood, there is always a shortage, and the Red Cross is always in need of more donors, and I know that's certainly the case now as it always is, but you can go on RedCross.org, the website, and register for our blood drive, and we would love to have you join us here for that drive to donate that day.
Paul Szmal: And you spent a little time in October doing one of the annual events that happens as part of your job as Sheriff, and that is the retirees' luncheon.
Brian Schenck: It is, and I know that a number of sheriffs and agencies within your listening area do this as well, but it's always really nice to get back your retirees, come back to the office to have the luncheon. We do that once a year, get to meet up and catch up, and I reflect on all the years of service that are not only that I've given at that luncheon, but you look around the room and just the decades and decades of service to our community that are represented in law enforcement at that luncheon, and it's just really nice to see them come back and still stay connected with the department, because I know that's important for our retirees. And actually, in a couple of years, I'll be joining them as one of the retirees, but I'll be excited to be able to come back and stay connected with everybody that you've worked with and you know so closely from all those years of service.
Paul Szmal: Since you're going to finish out the term here and then not seek a third term, I'm sure you've had time to reflect back not only on your career as Cayuga County Sheriff, but also just as a law enforcement officer. Are there any accomplishments that stand out that you are particularly proud of?
Brian Schenck: I'm proud of a lot that we've done with our Sheriff's Office, especially since I've been Sheriff, and I have to attribute those accomplishments to the men and women that work for our Sheriff's Office. I get to be the face of the department and get a lot of credit, but they're the ones that are in the trenches and making these things happen. I look back and think about different things that we've accomplished. We've achieved accreditation for our jail and for our road patrol division. That really is an outstanding accomplishment to show that we have the most up-to-date policy and procedure and that we're doing things in a modern way that allows us to fulfill the obligations of that. I look at the partnerships we've formed with providers over the last seven-plus years that are in our jail working every day, local community providers, our mental health center, and different entities that have partnered with us to improve the work that we do and help us fulfill our mission. I look at our school resource officer program that we've built over the last few years. We've brought a lot of school resource officers into our schools and really enhanced public safety in that area. There's just a lot of those types of things that we've accomplished that I'm very proud of, and again, that's really due to the incredible work done by our staff here. I truly believe that our community is in a safer place than it was when I came into this role, and I hope that whoever the next administrator is and the next administration can continue to build upon that and continue to improve public safety in our community. But it's really been great to watch that happen, and I am really proud and looking forward to the next year ahead. It won't be done until the end of 2026, so I have one more year, and my work isn't over yet. I'm going to continue to move forward and push forward to improve and enhance our sheriff's office and certainly work to make sure there's an orderly transition to the next administrator or the next sheriff, whoever that might be.
Paul Szmal: Well, early congratulations to you on the decision to not seek a third term and move on, and happy Thanksgiving to you as well, Sheriff, and we'll talk to you again in December right before Christmas.
Brian Schenck: Thank you, Paul. I wish you a happy Thanksgiving and certainly the same a happy and safe Thanksgiving to everybody out there listening today. Thank you so much.
Paul Szmal: It is 8 50 on FLX morning.
