By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph police officials are seeking assistance from a yearly grant program designed to help fund purchase of some much-needed equipment.
St. Joseph Police officials have applied for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant.
St. Joseph Police Chief Chris Connally says the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant is a formula grant.
"There's formula that goes out to states and then there's certain money that will go to smaller jurisdictions through the state, but depending on your size, population, level of poverty, there's a certain amount of the grant that's given out by formula that you're eligible for," Connally tells KFEQ Hotline host Barry Birr. "And, we've received that just about every year there was one year where we didn't meet the formula."
Connally is not going to take it for granted. He says if they receive this year’s funds, it will go towards useful equipment and supplies
"In this year's grant we're looking at a couple different things, we want to add another speed trailer, one of our speed trailers is no longer functional," Connally explains. "And certainly, those have a big impact, especially some of the challenges we have now with traffic as well as staffing, and there's some other things in there."
Connally refers to the speed trailers as a 'traffic calming tool' with the trailers telling drivers how fast they are moving.
The grant will provide roughly 35-thousand dollars in funds with 10-percent going to the Buchanan County Sheriff's Office.
"No, it's a great opportunity, it goes our way every year, sometimes we'll look at a piece of equipment and with that formula a certain percentage of it goes to the Sheriff's department and we work with the Sheriff's department on that," Connally says. "We manage it, we submit it, usually we come together on something that's mutual."
This year that mutual item is a throw item, which Connally says is like a robot that will help provide surveillance for the S.W.A.T team.