Seized items could be used

DAYTON (AP) — State legislators ought to make it easier for financially troubled counties to use seized assets from drug cases to pay for essential services, a group that represents Ohio county commissioners said.

By law, sheriffs can use seized assets only for equipment, such as guns, computers or SWAT vehicles. But the County Commissioners’ Association of Ohio wants lawmakers to allow counties to more freely use special-purpose funds, which includes money and other items taken during criminal investigations.

Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer said he could use the $1 million he has in two funds to pay the salaries of 15 recently laid-off deputies and officers.

“That pot can keep growing, and there’s only so much equipment you can buy when you are losing personnel,” he said.

The layoffs at the sheriff’s office were part of the county’s $10 million in cuts from this year’s budget, brought on mostly because declining county sales-tax revenue has fallen by more than 12 percent this year.

But the county is seeking another $3.2 million in cuts from various departments and offices, and officials are eyeing the nearly $19.4 million now sitting in 33 special-purpose funds.

“We’re in a budgetary time when the old rules don’t apply,” said Montgomery County Commission President Dan Foley. “These are all taxpayer dollars. We have to look under every rock.”

Though Plummer and other elected county officials said they would like more flexibility in using seized money, not everyone was sure that control over the assets should be placed with the county commission.

Other local governments in Ohio lately have made greater use of seized items to pay for services.

In Boardman Township, the police department used more than $83,000 in seized drug money in December to buy low-mileage unmarked cars for police detectives and administrators from local auto dealers.

And in Columbus, police used almost $21,000 in forfeited drug money last August to install 50-inch TV monitors at station houses. The big screens are for playing training videos and messages from the police chief or other officials.