BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County Sheriff John Garcia is asking Gov. Kathy Hochul to reverse a state decision denying more than $617,000 in reimbursement for parole violators housed in county jails during last year’s state prison staffing crisis.
Garcia says Erie County incurred additional costs while holding people who otherwise would have been transferred into state custody during the 2025 correction officer strike.
The state has already reimbursed Erie County more than $2.2 million for other state-ready incarcerated people who remained in county custody. But Garcia says the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision denied a separate $617,700 claim covering parole violators…