Ahead of a scheduled vote in the Monroe County Legislature’s Public Safety Committee, the Sheriff’s Office agreed to put information about jail trust funds on the department website. Monroe County is believed to be the only county in New York State providing this level of public, online disclosure of jail fund spending.
As a result, Legislator Rachel Barnhart’s resolution requiring expenditures between 2020 and 2026 to be disclosed to the Legislature was tabled. So far, the Sheriff’s Office has posted expenditures for 2025 and 2026. The resolution will be lifted from the table if the remaining data is not posted online, which the Sheriff’s Office said should happen by the end of the week.
The Sheriff’s Office posted expenditure data for two funds containing revenue from jail commissary sales and telephone and tablet services. The telephone/tablet fund has never been audited, and nearly $8 million has been spent from the fund since 2020.
“This is a huge victory for transparency. This is money generated through services purchased by incarcerated individuals and their families. The public has had no visibility into how these funds have been spent. Making this information readily available online sets a new standard for transparency in New York State, and I hope other counties will follow Monroe County’s lead,” said Barnhart.
The Sheriff’s Office also disclosed policies governing the funds. In a June letter responding to questions from the Democratic Caucus, the Sheriff’s Office emphasized that there were no statutory restrictions or state regulations governing use of the telephone/tablet fund and accused Barnhart of spreading “misinformation.” But the newly posted website states that the Sheriff’s Office has established its own policy governing the fund. Under that policy, expenditures must “further the rehabilitation or welfare of incarcerated individuals or otherwise improve operations of the Jail/Correctional Facility.”
“The Sheriff’s Office defines that standard much too broadly, in my opinion. Officer uniforms, office furniture and legal fees do not further the welfare and rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals, and I continue to have serious questions about using this money for those purposes. But that’s a conversation for another day. Today, I am grateful that we have come to an agreement that provides a level of transparency into jail fund spending that, to my knowledge, no other county in New York currently provides.”