By Ronica Shannon
The Richmond Police Department recently received more than $490,000 in federal stimulus money which will fund the salaries of three new officers over a period of three years.
The department received the fourth highest amount of stimulus funding out of 18 Kentucky grantees. The money was issued through the COPS Hiring Recovery Program, and 140 Kentucky law enforcement agencies applied for grants through the program.
“In this challenging economic climate, we feel fortunate to have received this funding that will allow us to add officers to the force at practically no cost to the city,” said Larry Brock, Richmond’s police chief.
Brock originally applied for $982,728, which would fund the salaries of six officers over a three-year time period. The amount allotted for the Richmond police force was $491,166.
The department is authorized for 70 police officers, not including the school resource officer positions, and there currently are 64, which is why the original proposal was for six officers, Brock said.
“We have since had an officer resign, so right now, we have seven positions to fill to reach our authorized full strength,” he said. “It will allow us to hire three new officers immediately and get them into training. Once they have completed their training, they will bolster the number of officers we are able to put on the street and in specialized units, such as investigations and narcotics, to better serve our citizens and the community.”
The grant requires that all of the funding be spent on salaries for the three officers. It also covers all costs associated with salary, including the city’s pension contributions, Social Security and worker’s compensation.
The COPS Hiring Recovery Program funding is based on the law enforcement agency’s current entry-level salary and fringe benefits for full-time, sworn officers.
Congress waived the recovery program’s previously required 25 percent local match, allowing the City of Richmond to save money that eventually would be needed to fill the police department staff.
Funding also was allotted to police departments in the cities of Benham, Cumberland, Henderson, Morgantown, Muldraugh, Newport, Paducah, Russell Springs, Russellville and Shepherdsville.
Recovery funds also went to the cities of Coal Run Village, Glasgow, Hopkinsville, Hyden, Radcliff, the Owsley County Sheriff’s Department and the Warren County Fiscal Court.
Nationwide, 7,272 law enforcement agencies applied for the grant funding adding up to more than $8 billion, and only 1,046 of those agencies were awarded with a total amount of $999 million.
The COPS Hiring Recovery Program summary for Kentucky showed that 881 police jobs were saved (or rehired or lay-off averted) and 3,818 new law enforcement career opportunities were created.
Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon @richmondregister.com or 624-6608.
