Pubdate: Mon, 05 Dec 2005 Source: Valley City Times Record (ND) Copyright: 2005 Valley City Times Record Contact: http://www.times-online.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3718 Author: Scott Webster, T-R Staff Writer FEDERAL BUDGET CUTS AFFECT LOCAL TASK FORCE AND BARNES COUNTY Barnes County will feel the effect of federal budget cuts come January when one officer on the Stutsman-Barnes Narcotics Task Force will be eliminated. This is the certain outcome of the latest legislative session in which federal funds were redirected from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program. Funding from this program enabled task forces in all states to maintain officers specific to drug enforcement. "That person's job is focused on drug enforcement," said Valley City Police Chief Dean Ross. "He could follow through without other things getting in the way, such as traffic stops, deaths, assaults, and accident reports. It keeps the drug agent doing what he does best." "It is frustrating that we can get funds to buy equipment, but nothing is available to maintain officers ..." VC Police Chief Dean Ross Ross indicated the supporting funds for the program have been declining over the past years. "It started at a 72 / 28 match, then 65 / 35. Now it's a zero match." "So far this year, no funding has been approved," said Ross. "If it were reinstated the way it is, all the funds would go to areas with higher crime." Barnes County will be directly affected by the position cut. "Most of our major trouble in the last couple of years has all been domestic and drug related," he said. "It is frustrating that we can get funds to buy equipment, but nothing is available to maintain officers." According to Ross, methamphetamine use is a real problem in Barnes County but it does not stay in the county alone. "This is a mobile society," he adds. "They (meth users) are very mobile. Our problem is Stutsman County's problem and even Fargo's." Ross suggests if the funding is not reinstated, the city and county should go together and actually hire a drug agent for Barnes County. "Hopefully Stutsman and Jamestown could do the same and then the two of them could work together." The drug problem will not go away alone, and the task force is making a difference in the community, Ross said. "The grant was the critical part of all the task forces in the state," he added. "There's no doubt that this will affect everyone." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman