Tuesday, September 28, 2004
The village has used Homeland Security grants for a generator and police radios.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LEETONIA -- Police Chief John Soldano is urging small-town police and fire chiefs to apply for Homeland Security grants.
A federal Homeland Security grant and a donation from the local Fraternal Order of Eagles have helped Leetonia police to stick to a tight budget.
A federal grant of $12,388 was used to buy hand-held, two-way radios for patrolmen and three high-band, mobile radios to be installed in police cruisers. The grant also covered batteries and other accessories for the radios, and the installation charges.
The department also recently received a $1,000 donation from the Leetonia Eagles Aerie 1496, which members said was to be used for maintenance of police cruisers. Soldano used the money to purchase new tires and brake service for three cruisers.
Soldano said the Homeland Security grants are 100-percent grants to the communities. The communities don't have to provide any matching funds to qualify, so "it doesn't hurt to try."
"I applied for communications equipment because we were in desperate need of new hand-held radios," the chief said. "We have not purchased new radios for several years, and there's no way we could have without the grant."
Previous funding
Last year, the fire department received Homeland Security funding for a generator used to power the police and fire department's communication systems in the event of a power outage. Soldano said the new generator replaced an old, military-style manual generator that wouldn't work until it was manually connected and turned on.
"We have been very fortunate to receive these grants because communication is vital to our operations," Soldano said. "Good communication is definitely a security issue. Our officers deserve state-of-the-art equipment, both for their own personal safety and that of our citizens."
Clerk Judy Garlough said the police budget has $84,939 left of a $280,721 budget going into the last quarter of 2004. All departments have had to keep a tight rein on spending in 2004 because of increased operating costs and declining revenue, she said.
About $136,000 of the budget spent so far has been for salaries and benefits.
Salaries and benefits account for $196,000 of the total police budget, Garlough said.
tullis@vindy.com