GOVERNMENT GRANTS : Law agencies fine-tune government grant requests

Officials at 15 Pierce County law enforcement agencies are fine-tuning business grant requests for nearly $2.8 million in federal grant money tapped for selected Pierce County governments.

The Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grants were announced in March as part of President Barack Obama’s federal stimulus plan.

Nationwide, $2 billion was earmarked for the three-year program to help law enforcement agencies hire and support officers and pay for crime-prevention, judicial, prosecution and corrections efforts.

The state received $36.7 million. Of that, 40 percent went to local governments based on their population and violent crime statistics.

Pierce County officials have been working on how to spend their grant cut.

The agencies must apply for the government grant by mid-May and spell out what they would do with the grant money. That’s often a formality, officials said. As long as the requests meet the grant requirements, the agencies get the money to spend on what they outlined.

"We never have (been turned down) in the past," said Julie Williams, contract manager for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

The money should start arriving in July.

The government grant allows departments to buy equipment they would otherwise not be able to purchase. The money is welcomed by the county and cities that have had to make cuts because of the economic downturn.

Milton Police Chief Bill Rhoads wants to buy laptop computers with the $16,757 his department is set to receive. In years past, the department has had to buy used computers, including off of eBay for $200 to $250.

The Tacoma Police Department expects to get more than $1 million. Chief Don Ramsdell has split the grant money among several initiatives. He’d like to spend $452,273 to hire two crime analysts who can help spot crime trends in the city.

Another portion – $344,118 – would pay for overtime so officers could look for truant kids, suspected drunken drivers, youths out past curfew and underage teens drinking at house parties.

The money also would allow officers to team up with state liquor control agents on compliance checks at small businesses and work to reduce prostitution and crime in targeted neighborhoods.

By STACEY MULICK May 4th,2009 - http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/crime/story/729844.html

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