Let Ball continue leading sheriff’s office

As a resident of Madison County, I have a vested interest in the outcome of the upcoming election for Madison County Sheriff. Acting Sheriff John Ball is our best choice.

The county sheriff is not a road patrol position. While the sheriff can and does go out on patrol, it is primarily an administrative position, with a heavy focus on the oversight of the county jail and operation of a complex organization. John Ball has many years of experience with jail oversight, overseeing multi-million dollar budgets, grant writing, and collaboration with community organizations that has reduced recidivism by 20 percent and saved taxpayers a lot of money. As undersheriff and now acting sheriff, he has supervised all ranks of law enforcement on a countywide basis.

John Ball has saved our taxpayers millions of dollars: Over $12 million in Homeland Security grants for Madison County since 2012, over $2 million saved by a 20 percent reduction in repeat offenders, and over $650,000 saved in medical costs at the county jail by introducing state of the art medical billing. Ball has supervisory experience as a sergeant, lieutenant, captain, undersheriff, and acting sheriff. He has streamlined the Madison County pistol permit process, managed four different collective bargaining agreements, and overseen the budget, operations, and personnel of the County Sheriff’s Department. In addition, Ball has experience as a major incident commander during floods and natural disasters, armed stand-offs, drug busts and drug lab take-downs, and, unfortunately, fatalities.

John Ball wants to save the lives of drug addicts with Narcan use and advocate for programs to break the cycle of addiction, so fewer people need Narcan in the future. This is called having vision.

John Ball and our sheriff’s deputies have been collaborating with other agencies to successfully fight the drug issues in Madison County.

Madison County is a great place to live. We have dedicated professionals who make up the Madison County Sheriff’s Department. It is a wellrun organization. I cannot think of a reason to change the leadership when an organization is running extremely well. I am voting for Undersheriff John Ball: A military veteran, an experienced organizational leader, a great steward of taxpayer monies, a leader with vision, and a man who has faithfully served Madison County for almost a decade. Let’s keep what’s working. Vote for Acting Sheriff John Ball on Nov. 7,

2017.

Fred Bragan, Canastota