NORWICH – In addition to facing high turnover rates, the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office now faces another challenge as for the first time in approximately 10 years, the county goes without a civil service exam for the office’s Sheriff’s deputy positions.

According to Chenango County Sheriff Ernest Cutting, the sheriff’s office may several more deputies leaving by the end of this year, and because of a brand new test application deadline, those positions may not be filled until September of 2019.

“The challenge we face, is that I was never notified of a change in test scheduling requirements,” said Cutting. “We would have had to request this year’s test between the end of July and the beginning of August, but we weren’t notified of that.”

Cutting said the change occurred after a number of sheriffs, himself included, approached New York State Civil Service representatives hoping to make the test date earlier in the year.

He said they advocated for changing the date because it would allow for more time to do interviews and review paperwork before sending individuals to an academy for training.