Recognizing the serious and growing heroin and opioid issue facing Erie County, the Sheriff’s Office requested two additional deputies for the Narcotics Unit in the 2016 budget, which was approved by the Erie County Legislature at today’s annual budget meeting.

“The two new positions for the Narcotics Unit are a welcome addition to the Sheriff’s Office and its battle against the growing illicit drug use throughout Erie County.  My Narcotics Unit has been working tirelessly to end the stream of illegal drugs from entering or being sold within Erie County and the additional personnel will allow the Sheriff’s Office to be more proactive in battling cocaine, heroin and other opioid drugs,” said Sheriff Timothy B. Howard.

“The addition of these two deputies comes at a time when we are seeing a historic number of deaths from overdoses. It’s a tragedy. The Majority Caucus’s focus this budget process was on prioritization and we agreed that this was among the county’s top needs at this time,” said Legislator Edward Rath, Chairman of the Public Safety Committee.

Since the beginning of 2015 there have been nearly 150 deaths associated with heroin/opioid overdoses. In addition, numerous first responders and trained citizens have had to inject victims with Narcan, which is used to save victims who are on the brink of an overdose.

“This is an issue that the county needs to address as a whole. In addition to supporting this budget addition, the Legislature will also be hosting an informational meeting in my committee with various county departments and outside agencies to continue to work toward a solution. It is our hope that these additional deputies are another step towards addressing the heroin epidemic,” said Legislator Lynne Dixon, Chairwoman of the Health and Human Services Committee.

It is important to note that the additional funding was added into the 2016 budget without increasing overall spending in the next fiscal year. In fact, the Legislature lowered the property tax rate for the second consecutive year.