There shall be elected from the County at large a Sheriff, whose term of office shall begin the first day of January next following election to the position and shall be for four years as permitted by state legislation. At the time of nomination and election, and throughout the term of office, the Sheriff shall be and remain a qualified elector of the County.
The Sheriff shall be the chief peace and law enforcement officer for and have civil and criminal jurisdiction throughout the County. As such, and except as may otherwise be provided in this Charter or applicable law, the Sheriff shall:
(a) 
Organize and maintain a trained and operational law enforcement staff to protect and otherwise serve the needs of the County and cooperate with other law enforcement agencies within and outside the County in furtherance thereof;
(b) 
Be responsible for the operation and security of the County jail, the receipt, custody, and activities of all jail inmates, and all programs respecting said inmates;
(c) 
Report in writing to the District Attorney not less than weekly the identities of all inmates within the County jail, whether sentenced or unsentenced, the nature of charges pending against all untried or unsentenced inmates and the dates of their original confinement, and the anticipated dates of release of all sentenced inmates;
(d) 
Exercise civil jurisdiction throughout the County respecting the service of process and other legal papers and documents, the execution of judgments, and the enforcement of court orders;
(e) 
Acquire, maintain and utilize within authorized appropriations and County procedures such equipment, materials and supplies as may be necessary or appropriate in the performance of the duties of the office;
(f) 
Have all the powers and perform all the duties, both criminal and civil, now or hereafter conferred or imposed by law upon sheriffs, and perform such other and related non-conflicting duties as may be required by the Tompkins County Legislature.
The Sheriff shall have the power to appoint an Undersheriff and such Deputy Sheriffs, assistants, and employees of the office as shall be necessary to perform the duties of the office of County Sheriff and as shall be authorized by the Tompkins County Legislature. All Deputy Sheriffs, assistants, and employees shall be directly responsible to the Sheriff.
(a) 
Each appointment by the Sheriff of persons to the staff shall be in writing, filed, and recorded in the office of the County Clerk (except in the case of civilian employees) and reported to the Office of Human Resources. Before the appointment by the Sheriff of any person, however, other than a person deputized to do particular acts, the Sheriff shall require such person to submit to the Sheriff fingerprints of both hands. It shall be the duty of the Sheriff to compare, or cause to be compared, such fingerprints with fingerprints filed with the Bureau of Identification and Information Services of the State Division of Criminal Justice Services or other appropriate state agency;
(b) 
The Sheriff shall operate the County jail in accordance with standards promulgated by the New York State Commission of Corrections. A female employee shall at all times be in attendance when females are contained in the jail;
(c) 
The Sheriff may deputize the peace or police officers of the city, towns, villages, higher educational facilities, and special districts, for the purpose of authorizing an arrest without a warrant outside the territorial limits in the presence of such peace or police officer. Such peace or police officer shall not, however, be deemed an officer, agent, servant, or employee of the County;
(d) 
For the protection of human life and property during an emergency, the Sheriff may deputize orally or in writing such number of additional special deputies as the Sheriff deems necessary, taking into consideration the Civil Service Law and relevant bargaining unit agreements.
There shall be a Jail Physician(s) appointed by the Sheriff in consultation with the Public Health Director. The Jail Physician(s) shall be directly responsible to the Sheriff for the health of the inmates of the County Jail. The County Medical Director shall conduct quarterly quality assessments of random inmate medical files and the results of each assessment shall be reported to the Public Health Director, Sheriff, and Captain of Corrections Officer. At the time of appointment and throughout the term of office, the Jail Physician(s) shall be and remain duly licensed to practice medicine in the State of New York.
Salary.
(a) 
The salary of the Sheriff shall be fixed by the Tompkins County Legislature and shall be in lieu of all fees or other compensation.
Fees.
(b) 
All fees that shall be charged and collected by virtue of law from any person in civil matters or otherwise shall apply to or be for the benefit of the County and shall be collected and accounted for by the Sheriff and paid over to the County Director of Finance without deduction or delay at such times and under such conditions as the latter may prescribe. On or before the 10th day of each month, the Sheriff shall make, certify, and deliver to the County Director of Finance a full and true statement for the previous month of all such moneys received each day by the Sheriff or the employees of the Department in their official capacity. Such statement shall be in the form the County Director of Finance shall prescribe.