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Garner Police Undecided on How to Spend 46K in Stimulus Funds

By Paul Tambasco
City Editor

Like other Americans seeking information on the economic stimulus, the Garner Police Department had to visit a federal Web site to learn the size of their share.

Before then, they heard chatter but not from the folks doling out the dough.

“[Two weeks ago] I was at [a meeting for] the Governor’s Crime Commission. …I had heard that some Justice Assistance Grants were going to be coming down as part of the president’s stimulus package,” Garner Police Chief Tom Moss said last Tuesday. “I didn’t know about the amounts until I saw it in the newspaper.”

The lack of notice has not detracted from news of additional funds, which will be in the form of a Justice Assistance Grant from the Office of Justice Programs, an arm of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Moss confirmed that the town will receive $46,626.

“This is the first year it has been that much,” he said.

Prior grants to GPD have been between $10,000 and $15,000 and have come some years but not others.  Typically, the funds have been used for minor equipment not picked up in budget, Moss said.

The justice department determines the grant amounts through a complex formula, Moss said. He does not know what criteria they use.

Stimulus guidelines restrict the money to police purposes with an emphasis on creating and retaining jobs, stabilizing budgets and preserving essential services. Moss and senior staff at the police department are reviewing those guidelines in considering possible uses.

“We’re not sure, at this point, exactly how we are going to use it,” he said.

Ultimately, Moss said, the money should follow the spirit of the larger stimulus bill. The money will be used either for a new program or equipment that is not already funded by the town.

“We’re trying to take the general guidelines that the Feds have issued on their Web site and see how those will best work in Garner.”

Wake County and eight of its municipalities will receive JAG money as part of the economic recovery bill.

The money will be funneled to Garner via an unusual route, Moss said. The justice department will distribute funds through Raleigh. A grant manager there will administer allocations for all nine Wake County recipients. Once Garner spends its share, it will seek reimbursement from the city.

In the past, grants have come directly from the federal government, Moss said.

“That way, instead of dealing with nine entities in Wake County, [the Feds] only had to deal with one.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was signed into law by President Obama on Feb. 17.

Of the $787 billion authorized in the bill, $4 billion is for state and local law enforcement and other criminal and juvenile justice activities. The Office of Justice Programs is administering $2.76 billion of this funding, including the JAG grants, according to the justice department’s Web site.

Intended to boost the economy immediately, the extra funds are arriving as police share in the town’s expected $625,000 revenue shortfall this year.

Moss wants to put the money to work by late spring with a plan in place by May 1.

“As far as government goes, that’s fairly quick,” he said.

Related articles:

• Garner police seek suspect in attempted Webb’s robbery
• Garner Police: No notice yet about stimulus funds
• Garner Police: No Word on Receiving Stimulus Funds

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