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,… Continue Reading Sheriff Agrees to Put Jail Trust Fund Information Online

Last week, we learned that Sheriff Todd Baxter was among the Monroe County officials who knew about a 2025 state report into the painful and preventable death of a man in the Monroe County Jail and failed to disclose it to the County Legislature. At the same time, Baxter was making money through a private… Continue Reading Statement Regarding Ethics Board Ruling on Baxter’s Business

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Monroe County Legislator Rachel Barnhart today introduced a resolution requiring the Sheriff’s Office to provide the Legislature with a complete accounting of Trust Fund 9620, the Jail Commissary-Phone fund, on a biannual basis. “Elected officials, and by extension the public, deserve access to information necessary to evaluate how this fund is used.… Continue Reading Barnhart Introduces Resolution to Force Disclosure of Jail Trust Fund Spending

Monroe County Legislator Rachel Barnhart announced today that she will vote against a resolution accepting a $161,285 Operation Stonegarden grant from the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. The three-year grant would fund overtime, equipment and reimbursements to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and the police departments in Greece, Irondequoit and… Continue Reading Legislator Barnhart to Vote No on Operation Stonegarden Grant

Monroe County Legislator Rachel Barnhart (District 17) has filed a formal ethics complaint with the Monroe County Board of Ethics requesting an advisory opinion regarding a private consulting business operated by Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter. Baxter co-owns and operates Baxter & Barnes Leadership (BBL), a for-profit consulting firm registered as an LLC with the… Continue Reading Legislator Barnhart Files Ethics Complaint Against Monroe County Sheriff Baxter Over Private Consulting Business

Monroe County Legislator Rachel Barnhart (District 17), a member of the Monroe County Planning Board, today submitted formal comments on the county’s draft comprehensive plan, the first in 40 years. Barnhart praised the plan’s detailed portrait of Monroe County’s economic, demographic, and climate challenges, but called on the county to significantly strengthen its treatment of… Continue Reading Monroe County Legislator and Planning Board Member Submits Comments on Draft Comprehensive Plan, Calls for Stronger Poverty Framework

ROCHESTER, NY — The Monroe County Legislature today passed a resolution requiring the Monroe County Sheriff to disclose purchases of surveillance technology exceeding $100,000. The measure passed 21–8. The resolution, led by Legislator Rachel Barnhart (District 17) and co-sponsored by Legislature President Yversha Román and other colleagues, requires the Sheriff to file quarterly reports with the… Continue Reading Monroe County Legislature passes resolution requiring disclosure of Sheriff’s surveillance technology purchases

Several members of the Monroe County Legislature introduced legislation requiring the Monroe County Sheriff to disclose purchases of surveillance technology exceeding $100,000 to the County Legislature. The proposal would require quarterly reports identifying the surveillance technology purchased, its capabilities and intended use, the vendor, the cost, and the funding source. The legislation defines surveillance technology… Continue Reading Legislators Introduce Measure Requiring Disclosure of Sheriff’s Surveillance Technology Purchases