Troy City Council COPS grant and SRO discussion, July 15, 2020
Channel: Northwest Montana Now
Date: 2020-07-18

The Troy City Council approved a contract for a grant presented by Troy Police Chief Katie Davis from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that will provide $189,779 to fund a single officer position over 36 months.

The Council also tabled a potential agreement with Troy Public Schools, with the city’s version proposing the school pay $15,000 per year to help fund a school resource officer.

An email from Troy Public Schools Superintendent Jacob Francom to Davis indicated the two entities still had details to work out. A proposal from the school leaned toward $10,000 per year.

According to the COPS Hiring Program website (https://cops.usdoj.gov/chp), the grant program, “provides funding to hire and re-hire entry level career law enforcement officers in order to preserve jobs, increase community policing capacities and support crime prevention efforts.”

A letter from the DOJ addressed to Davis and Troy Mayor Dallas Carr states that a COPS Hiring Program grant award usually covers 75% of the salary and benefits for an officer, with the municipality paying the remaining 25%. However, Davis said the cash match has been waived for Troy.

There could be some cost to the city, such as equipping the officer, depending on what the department has on hand, Davis said. The city may also have to cover training costs based on the applicant.

Davis said she has recently applied for an equipment grant that could offset some of the cost of equipping the new officer.

Davis said that the COPS grant funds a position for 36 months, and the department has to retain the officer for an additional 12 months after that.

“At that point, either we’re hoping that we can find other ways to fund it, or potentially reapply again,” Davis said.

Troy Police Officer Henry Roy said it is not uncommon for departments with a successful program to receive the grant again.

Davis said the additional officer would allow the department to provide better coverage of the city and better work schedules for officers, which could help to prevent turnover.

“It gives us an opportunity to focus on some area issues,” Davis said. “It’s no secret that we have drugs in the area, DUIs are still a thing.”

It will also make it possible to reduce the hours officers currently remain on-call after completing a regular shift, she said.

City Clerk/Treasurer Tracy Rebo said the additional officer could save the city money on overtime.

The additional officer would also make it much more feasible to schedule out-of-area training and prevent the department from having to overwork existing officers while other personnel are gone, Davis said.

For any officer to take vacation currently, other officers have to work 48-hour shifts, Roy said.

“It should be a pretty significant stress relief for our department,” Davis said.

The grant could permit the department to assign an officer to work with Troy Public Schools as a school resource officer for 20 hours per week, Davis said.

Carr clarified that the grant is not for a school resource officer, and Davis responded that the grant provides for the hiring of a fourth officer, which would enable the department to support a different officer working with the school.

Davis said Troy is currently working with the school on how an officer would fit into the school’s plans.

Council Member TJ Boswell asked what the plan would be for the officer hired under the grant, and whether the department would hire a reserve officer.

Davis responded that the officer would work as a regular patrol officer, and would have to be a new applicant.

Regarding the SRO position, Davis said she would like to have Rebo and a council member participate in discussions with the school.

Rebo said the Council could approve the grant, but wait to make use of the grant until details are worked out with the school. The city could also withdraw from the grant if plans with the school district fall through.

Carr expressed his support for approving the contract, noting that Davis has historically done a good job of managing the police department’s budget and spending.

Council President Crystal Denton motioned to approve the grant contract, and Council Member Chuck Ekstedt seconded. The Council voted unanimously to approve the contract.

Ekstedt made the motion to table the school resource officer agreement, Boswell seconded, and the Council voted unanimously to table the agreement.

The full meeting video can be found here: https://youtu.be/KVwJ9s_KRGM

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