The sheriff informed the Bucks County Commissioners Thursday that his row office will not be following county’s vaccine mandate.
Sheriff Milt Warrell, a Democrat whose term ends at the start of 2022, sent a letter to top county officials and his uniformed and non-uniformed staff Thursday afternoon. The letter states that he believes he has the authority as an elected row officer on whether he can decide if his agency has to follow the vaccination mandate from the commissioners. The mandate is that county staff must be vaccinated or provide a viable exemption.
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County employees have until late October to get vaccinated. County nursing home and prison staff are required to get their vaccinations sooner if they wish to keep their jobs.
“I, as the sitting County Sheriff, will not mandate or enforce such mandating of any vaccine as it relates to the employees of my office. Though I understand the intention and thought of said mandate/order, I must disagree. Those that have received any vaccine related to Covid-19 or those that seek to receive one have my full support and blessing. I wish them all well and continued health, however these decisions are private between said person and their doctor and or family. I do not believe this can or should be mandated as a condition of employment,” Warrell wrote in the letter that was obtained by LevittownNow.com.
The sheriff’s letter cites Section 1620 of the Pennsylvania County Code. That section states that while row officer employees are paid through a county treasury, row officers have oversight in “hiring, discharging and supervising rights and obligations with respect to such employees.”
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No other row officers in Bucks County have publicly objected to the commissioner’s vaccination mandate.
County government, which is overseen by the commissioners, released a brief statement Friday when asked about Warrell’s letter.
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“The administration disagrees with the outgoing sheriff’s position on this matter. The county continues to encourage all eligible resident to get vaccinated against COVID-19,” according to statement released by spokesperson James O’Malley.
Warrell and the commissioners, which are made up of two Democrats and one Republican, have not always seen eye to eye and that divide only grew once Warrell was not the county Democrats endorsed candidate for the spring primary, which he lost to retired state trooper Mark Lomax. In November, Lomax and Republican Fred Harran, who is Bensalem Township’s public safety director, will square off in the election.
Warrell declined to issued comment outside of his letter or release numbers on how many of his staff are vaccinated.
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The sheriff’s office handles security at the Justice Center and criminal and civil matters that fall under the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas. Deputies are law enforcement officers, but do not handle patrol and investigative duties like municipal police officers.
Vaccination mandates are becoming more common as severe COVID-19 infections and deaths largely among people who did not get inoculated have grown nationwide. Bucks County has seen cases and hospitalizations increase, but deaths remained low over the summer.
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The three COVID-19 vaccines in use have been proven safe and effective. For more information on how to get vaccinated, click here.
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