Pubdate: Sat, 29 Jan 2005
Source: Muscatine Journal (IA)
Copyright: 2005 The Muscatine Journal
Contact:  http://www.mapinc.org/media/3667
Website: http://www.muscatinejournal.com/
Author: Stephen Byrd of the Muscatine Journal
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Drug+Trafficking+Area
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

CONSOLIDATION OF FEDERAL GRANT PROGRAMS SHIFTS MONEY OUT OF STATES LIKE IOWA

MUSCATINE, Iowa - The Muscatine County Drug Task Force, along with
Iowa's 23 other regional drug task groups, depends solely on annual
federal and state grants to operate.

However, recent federal consolidation of two major law enforcement
grant programs and a recalibration of the funds' distribution formulas
have cut Iowa's annual share of that funding. Those changes threaten
the state's ability to fight illegal drugs.

One funding source that state drug task forces have traditionally
relied on is the Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA),
one of 26 similar regions throughout the United States.

HIDTA, run by the federal executive branch's Office of National Drug
Control Policy, primarily funds the salaries of new law enforcement
officers.

On the Muscatine County Drug Task Force, HIDTA grants pay for the
salaries of a police officer, a sheriff's deputy, a secretary and a
full-time state narcotic agent.

However, in past years, the main source of state drug task force
funding was the Edward Byrne Grant Program. Distribution of Byrne
grants, which are approved by Congress, was based on a state's population.

Distribution of a smaller federal fund also OK'd by Congress, the
Local Law Enforcement Block Grant (LLEBG), was based on the number of
Part I crimes a state reported annually. Part I crimes include rape,
robbery, murder and aggravated assault.

Distribution of the Byrne and LLEBG funds were administered by the
Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP) and each state drug
task group was required to apply for funding annually.

Muscatine drug task force officials said that the Byrne fund had more
flexibility in how the money is used by law enforcement agencies. The
LLEBG, however, is used for specific purposes, such as purchasing
equipment or paying for officers' overtime expenses.

According to Dennis Wiggins, ODCP project manager, Iowa traditionally
received more money from Byrne grants than from the LLEBG because of
the low statewide crime rates.

"Byrne grants are the cornerstone of this state's drug control
policy," Wiggins said.

Across the state, Byrne grants paid for the annual salaries of 52
police officers and nine prosecutors, including assistant Muscatine
County Attorney Alan R. Ostergren, who specifically concentrate on
fighting narcotics.

In 2004, Byrne grants totaled $500 million nationwide in comparison to
the LLEBG's $132 million.

Changes Coming

In 2004, Congress combined the Byrne and LLEBG programs. The new
Justice Assistance Grant program (JAG) was appropriated $536 million
for fiscal year 2005.

Wiggins and Capt. C.J. Ryan of the Muscatine County Drug Task Force
both said that the new JAG fund, as it is appropriated now, will
adversely affect drug task groups across the state.

"We were cut by both edges of the sword," Wiggins said. "Not only the
amount of the overall fund was reduced by $95 million, but the federal
government changed the formula on how it's distributed."

"Every drug task force runs off of some sort of money from Byrne
grants," Ryan said. "The cuts will definitely affect our budget."

According to the new distribution rules, JAG funding is based 50
percent on population and 50 percent on crime rates.

"This severely affects rural states in the Midwest who don't have a
high number of Part I crimes," Wiggins said. "I think there will be
only 17 or 18 states in the U.S. that will benefit from JAG."

Those states include large population centers in California, Florida
and Texas, he said.

On a statewide level, Iowa will receive an estimated $4.8 million from
JAG in 2005, more than a million dollars less than the combined Byrne
and LLEBG funds the state received in 2004.

In past years, state drug task forces depended more on Byrne funding
while city and county law enforcement agencies used more LLEBG funds.

But because of the changes in the JAG's distribution formula, Wiggins
said that state drug task forces will lose at least $2.4 million in
funding they would have received otherwise if the Byrne fund was still
in existence - a 45 percent cut.

That worries Ryan, who said that removing meth labs is dangerous,
"time-consuming" and expensive for his officers.

With average environmental cleanup costs for an individual meth lab
estimated between $5,000-$6,000, the 19 meth labs that the Muscatine
County Drug Task Force shut down in 2003 cost the agency $114,000 for
that year alone.

"We don't know how much money we're going to get this year," Ryan
said. "But it means we won't be able to do as much as we have in the
past."

Wiggins said that the Muscatine Police Department will receive an
estimated $36,000 in JAG funding in 2005 as compared to $15,506 in
LLEBG funding in 2004.

However, Wiggins said that any extra money that the police department
could transfer over to the Muscatine County Drug Task Force for its
work would not make up a potential $60,000 - or 45 percent - shortfall
in the drug task force's 2005 budget.

ODCP will spread the diminishing funds as fairly and equally as
possible when the grant funding is distributed in July, Wiggins said.

Wiggins also said that no group will be forced to impose a 45 percent
budget cut across the board.

However, everyone will take a substantial hit, funding-wise, and
should prepare for it.

"This is bad timing," Wiggins said. "Very few Iowa communities will be
able to offset those cuts, including Muscatine."
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake