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The budget crunch just eased up a little for the Grass Valley Police Department — Capt. Rex Marks received word Tuesday that the department was awarded a $279,137 grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The Recovery Act granted $1 billion to fund the hiring and rehiring of law enforcement officers all across the country, providing 100 percent of the approved salary and benefits for the officers for three years.
“This is a one-time grant approved by President Obama back in late February,” Marks said. “It is intended to provide funding to local and state law enforcement, to plug holes created by the economic downturn, which forced freezing of positions or layoffs of officers.”
Grass Valley had applied for $1.67 million, which would have funded six officers for three years, Marks said.
At the time, there were six sworn officer vacancies within the department. Now, there are seven, all of which are the result of vacancies that were not filled.
The nearly $280,000 will fund one entry-level police officer position for the department for three years. The department must commit to retaining the position for a fourth year.
Funding is based on entry-level costs associated with wage and training.
“An entry-level wage would be approximately $40,000 and then you have to take into consideration the benefits associated with that, such as workers' compensation,” Marks explained. “For that first year, we're looking at just short of $70,000 for the total (wage and benefit) package. In addition to that, for anyone who is a new hire, there could be additional training costs, travel expenses, etc.”
One upside to the down economy is that there are a significant number of certified sworn officers seeking positions who would not need training, Marks said.
The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services will administer the grants, which were awarded to more than 1,000 agencies in all 50 states. The Department of Justice received more than 7,200 applications for more than 39,000 officer positions, representing a total of $8.3 billion in requested funding.
“The grants totaled $1 billion nationwide and more than $8 billion was requested, so for us to secure one position through this award is a good accomplishment,” Marks said.
To contact Staff Writer Liz Kellar, e-mail lkellar@theunion.com or call 477-4229.
The Recovery Act granted $1 billion to fund the hiring and rehiring of law enforcement officers all across the country, providing 100 percent of the approved salary and benefits for the officers for three years.
“This is a one-time grant approved by President Obama back in late February,” Marks said. “It is intended to provide funding to local and state law enforcement, to plug holes created by the economic downturn, which forced freezing of positions or layoffs of officers.”
Grass Valley had applied for $1.67 million, which would have funded six officers for three years, Marks said.
At the time, there were six sworn officer vacancies within the department. Now, there are seven, all of which are the result of vacancies that were not filled.
The nearly $280,000 will fund one entry-level police officer position for the department for three years. The department must commit to retaining the position for a fourth year.
Funding is based on entry-level costs associated with wage and training.
“An entry-level wage would be approximately $40,000 and then you have to take into consideration the benefits associated with that, such as workers' compensation,” Marks explained. “For that first year, we're looking at just short of $70,000 for the total (wage and benefit) package. In addition to that, for anyone who is a new hire, there could be additional training costs, travel expenses, etc.”
One upside to the down economy is that there are a significant number of certified sworn officers seeking positions who would not need training, Marks said.
The U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services will administer the grants, which were awarded to more than 1,000 agencies in all 50 states. The Department of Justice received more than 7,200 applications for more than 39,000 officer positions, representing a total of $8.3 billion in requested funding.
“The grants totaled $1 billion nationwide and more than $8 billion was requested, so for us to secure one position through this award is a good accomplishment,” Marks said.
To contact Staff Writer Liz Kellar, e-mail lkellar@theunion.com or call 477-4229.
