Part I of the series “The State’s Quiet Usury: How Albany Drains the Counties”
By Clayton “Tiger” Hulin, R.N.
When a State Trooper arrests someone in Allegany or Cattaraugus County, the public assumes the state handles the bill. After all, the uniform says New York State Police. The reality is a little different.
The moment that cruiser door slams shut, the meter starts running, but the invoice does not go to Albany. It goes to your county.
The 48-Hour Drain
From the first breath in a county jail cell, local taxpayers pick up the cost. Intake screening, booking, meals, laundry, medical clearance, even the paperwork that confirms the arrest all land on the county ledger. The average intake period runs between twenty-four and seventy-two hours. During that time, the State of New York does not pay a dime.
Every blood pressure check, every nurse’s note, every form that must be filled and filed belongs to a county employee. The medications stocked in lockboxes and the nurse who verifies them? County. The lights, the laundry, the trays of food? County. The liability insurance that covers it all? County.
According to internal budget lines, Allegany County’s jail medical contract alone exceeds six hundred thousand dollars annually, while food service and intake costs hover near three hundred fifty thousand. Cattaraugus County’s numbers trend higher, reflecting its larger inmate population. The state contributes nothing toward the short-term housing of its own arrests.
The Shell Game
How did it get this way? Slowly, by habit. The state established the laws, built the patrols, and outsourced the housing. Counties accepted it as part of the deal. Then the mandates multiplied, including bail reform, mental health holds, and medical documentation standards. With every reform came a new cost, unaccompanied by a check.
The state calls it cooperation. County accountants call it debt with uniforms.
A Simple Fix
The fix is not complicated. If the arrest is made under the authority of the State Police, the state should pay for the first forty-eight hours of custody. Not forever, only until the courts decide whether to hold, release, or remand.
That window is when the majority of intake work, testing, and medical clearance happens, and when the costs are highest. Billing the state directly would recover hundreds of thousands in local funds every year.
The Moral Ledger
It is not just about the money. It is about accountability. When the state can arrest without paying, it arrests more freely. When counties absorb the cost, they are forced to cut elsewhere: road repair, public health, even jail programs that prevent recidivism.
In the end, the bill for Albany’s authority lands in the laps of people who never made the arrest.
What the Counties Could Do
Counties have tools, they just rarely use them. They can adopt local resolutions demanding reimbursement or pass legislation setting a per-diem charge for state-level detainees. They can itemize “State Arrest Intake Fees” the same way hospitals bill insurers.
They can, quite literally, send Albany a bill.
A Word of Thanks
To our citizens who protect us, the deputies, jail staff, and local officers who stand between chaos and community, thank you. After working in a jail myself, I can tell you, you want no part of what’s in there walking our streets. We owe you a debt of gratitude worth far more than a single Memorial Week every year.
A Closing Word
If Albany wants to charge counties for privilege, it is time the counties charge for service. A cell, after all, is real estate: heated, staffed, insured, and secured. If the State of New York wants to rent space, it can start paying rent.
Until then, every slammed cruiser door in Belmont or Little Valley is a reminder. The state writes the laws. The county pays for them.
And sooner or later, somebody needs to close the tab.
The State’s Quiet Usury — Part I: The Intake Tab | © Tiger 2025 | For The Wellsville Sun Reach Tiger anytime, claymation_88@yahoo.com
