Task Force leader deserved better exit after 40 years of service for community

Editor:

This is an open letter to the Orleans County Legislature and Jack Welch, Orleans County Chief Administrative Officer. Please note that each legislator has received this in their email inbox.

After 40 years of dedicated service in law enforcement, my husband Joe Sacco deserved better than to have his career ended by administrators who said there was no money in the budget for his position.

Forty years of showing up, protecting people, serving the community, and doing a job that most people could never imagine doing. Forty years of commitment, sacrifice, and putting others first. Forty years of establishing and keeping relationships with law enforcement departments across the region and at both the state and federal levels. That kind of service should be recognized with gratitude and respect, not dismissed as a budget line that can simply be eliminated.

But this decision goes beyond one man’s career.

At the same time, county administration has eliminated the Drug Task Force, taking away one of the most proactive tools in ground-level law enforcement, eliminating the resources who are passionate and dedicated to identifying drug activity, addressing the drug problem in our communities, and getting ahead of criminal activity rather than constantly reacting to it.

The message these decisions send is deeply concerning: When it comes to county priorities, where does public safety really rank?

You cannot talk about putting the community first while eliminating proactive law enforcement resources and dismissing decades of experience and dedication in the name of small budget savings 0.3% of your 106 million dollar budget which is probably in there just reappropriated.

Public safety should never be treated as an expendable expense. The people who live, work, and raise families in this county deserve more than a reactive approach to law enforcement. They deserve prevention, proactive policing, and leadership that recognizes the importance of protecting its citizens.

My husband gave 40 years of his life to this profession and this community. He never stopped showing up for the people he served. It’s heartbreaking that the administration’s response to that dedication was to eliminate his position without warning or discussion.  To remove him and his personal belongings from the building immediately was just disrespectful to him and his dedication to this county for the past 40 years. You may call it protocol but we all know this is utter disrespect.

This is bigger than one person losing a job. It’s about the value we place on experience, the resources we provide to law enforcement, and whether the people of this county are truly being put first.

Forty years of service cannot be erased by a budget decision or so called restructuring,  the need for proactive law enforcement doesn’t disappear just because a task force is eliminated.

My husband can walk away and retire  knowing he gave this community 40 years and he has a very strong community of people around him that do respect admire and honor his years of dedication. You, the county leadership, will have to answer to the community for the priorities you choose and the reasons they are chosen. It does make me wonder if this decision was indeed political, not just budgetary, and I am certain you will have to answer that question going forward. This community deserves honesty transparency and accountability.

Hoping you all sleep well knowing Joe and his team are no longer identifying and removing the threats that are in our neighborhoods day in and day out.

Chantelle Sacco

Albion