By JON DUVAL and TERRY SMITH
Express Staff Writers
The Ketchum and Hailey police departments have been awarded federal economic stimulus grants of nearly $200,000 each to fund an officer in each city for the next three years.
Ketchum and Hailey were among 13 police agencies in Idaho awarded grants for a total of 26 new law enforcement officers in the state. The awards were announced Tuesday by Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
About $1 billion was awarded nationally. The grants will provide 100 percent funding for 4,699 police officers across the United States.
Ketchum was awarded just over $198,000, while Hailey was awarded just over $193,000. Ketchum will use the funding to hire an additional officer, while in Hailey the grant will allow the Police Department to retain a position that was set to be eliminated in the 2010 fiscal year budget.
The grants provide both salary and benefits for an officer for three years but require that police agencies retain the positions with internal funding for a fourth year.
"I think we should be in an excellent position to pick up the funding by then," said Ketchum City Administrator Gary Marks.
The grants were authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which is commonly referred to as the federal economic stimulus package.
Forty-one police agencies in Idaho applied for the grants. In addition to the Ketchum and Hailey police departments, grants were awarded to police agencies in American Falls, Boise, Caldwell, Clearwater County, Coeur d'Alene, Emmett, Kamiah, McCall, Mountain Home, Spirit Lake and Twin Falls County. Most agencies received grants for only one officer, but Boise was awarded money for eight officers, Twin Falls County for four, Coeur d'Alene for three and Caldwell for two.
Marks said the awards were based on existing staff levels, crime statistics and economic indicators such as unemployment and home foreclosures.
Funding in Ketchum will increase total certified police staff from 10 to 11.
"We're pretty excited about it, to get a new officer," said Ketchum Police Chief Steve Harkins. "It's definitely going to enable us to put more officers on the street for law enforcement."
It was not clear when the new funding will be received, but Hailey Police Chief Jeff Gunter said he expects that the money will be available by Oct. 1.
The grant will allow the Hailey Police Department to stay at 14.5 certified officers next fiscal year.
"It will allow us to maintain our present level of service, particularly in traffic safety and control," Gunter said.
"I'm ecstatic about it," Gunter said. "The beauty of it is it's a fully funded grant—there's no city match. It's a very user-friendly grant."
Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
Hailey Police Chief Jeff Gunter said federal money to help fund policing should be available by Oct. 1. “It will allow us to maintain our present level of service, particularly in traffic safety and control,” Gunter said. Photo by David N. Seelig
