Sheriff seeks stimulus funds to add four deputies to forces

STAFF REPORT

LISBON — The Columbiana County Sheriff’s Department will try to add four deputies with federal stimulus funds.

The county commissioners on Wednesday approved the request of Sheriff Ray Stone to apply for the grants.

One grant proposal will be made to the Community Oriented Policing Services program, and the second is under a program to aid policing in rural areas. The plan is to hire two officers under each program.

Both applications have to be filed later this month.

Under the COPS program, the officers could be funded for three years. Funding for a fourth year will depend on the amount the sheriff’s office collects in special fees the department collects for various activities to retain them.

The second grant would come from the U.S. Justice Department’s program to help rural departments fight crime and drugs.

The rural program would provide all costs for officers and their equipment for two years.

Stone said that any officers hired may stay on to replace members of the sheriff’s office who retire.

Commissioner Dan Bing said that when the county has the opportunity to get such funds with no strings attached, “the county better take it.”

The amount of the proposals wasn’t available. The applications were not complete.

The county sheriff’s office has 20 deputies plus Stone.