Saratoga County: Shortages Approved, Deputies Honored, Saratoga Supervisors Approve New Voter Database Software
BALLSTON SPA —The Saratoga County Board of Supervisors held its first regular monthly meeting of the year Jan. 16 at the county complex in Ballston Spa.
During the meeting, the Board authorized the renewal of an agreement with NTS Data Services, LLC, based in Niagara Falls, for maintenance and support services of the county Board of Elections’ voter database software. NTS has provided voter registration and other election services to county board of elections in New York State since 1981.
The contract with Saratoga County runs through Dec. 31, 2026 and is authorized at a total overall cost of up to $224,011 for the three years.
County Supervisors also approved the creation of eight, part-time deputy sheriff positions through the 2024 calendar year. Those temporary positions are help meet staffing shortages in the Saratoga County Sheriff’s department. Each of the temporary deputy positions may be employed for up to 75 hours every two-week pay period at a pay rate of $27.10 per hour.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Phil Barrett also recognized three county Sheriff Deputies who were honored earlier in the day for their actions during two specific events in 2023.
“This afternoon we were able to attend the New York State Sheriffs Institute event in Colonie, and I want to congratulate the Saratoga County deputies who were honored for their incredible acts of bravery and service,” Barrett said. “Those are deputies Simpson, Whipple, and Milligan.”
Deputies Jeffrey Simpson and Robert Whipple were selected for their actions in May 2023 as members of the Sheriff’s special response team. While serving a search warrant in Clifton Park, the subject of the search warrant began shooting at deputies. Simpson, who was shot, took heroic action to protect his fellow team members and the public-at-large. Whipple, realizing Simpson suffered a life-threatening injury, tended to Simpson’s wound to control the bleeding while under stressful circumstances.
Deputy Nikklas Milligan was selected after showing exceptional valor and heroism during an in Corinth in June when he and an off-duty Warren County Sheriff’s Office sergeant dove into the Hudson River to save two exhausted swimmers who had come perilously close to the Palmer Dam.
The New York State Sheriff’s Institute’s Deputy of the Year for 2023 award, first presented in 1977, typically recognizes one deputy sheriff each year for an act of exceptional valor and heroism, above and beyond the normal call of duty in the previous calendar year. This year, more than one deputy was chosen.
“These members personify grace under pressure, and I could not be prouder than I am today,” Saratoga County Sheriff Zurlo said. “There are truly no words to describe just how fortunate the people of Saratoga County are to have them.”
The county Board of Supervisors oversees a $410 million budget and is comprised of 23 supervisors. Each of Saratoga County’s 21 municipalities have at least one elected supervisor; Saratoga Springs, and Clifton Park – the county’s most populous municipalities – each have two representatives.