Kosciusko County Council on Nov. 14 authorized the sheriff’s office to apply for two grants — a Kosciusko Community Foundation reimbursement grant to buy additional drone equipment and an Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) grant to replace the jail’s body-scanning equipment — and approved intra-budget transfers to cover staffing shortages in the jail.

Drone grant: Sheriff’s Office representative Michelle (last name not provided) told the council the department wants $19,996 from the Kosciusko Community Foundation to buy drone hardware so each shift would have access; the grant is reimbursement-based and requires no local match. The council voted to approve the request to apply. The sheriff said the department would request a later appropriation to cover upfront procurement if a reimbursement period requires bridging funds.

Body scanner grant: The sheriff’s office requested permission to apply for an ICJI grant to purchase a new body scanner. The presenter said the department requested $200,000 on the paperwork presented to the council (noting an earlier internal reference to up to $250,000 in a draft). The council approved the request to apply for the grant. The sheriff’s representative told the council maintenance or annual subscription costs for such equipment typically range from about $2,000 to $8,000 per year and that the county already budgets for maintenance of current equipment.

Staffing transfer: The council approved an appropriation transfer of $14,000 from a vacant full-time jailer payroll line to the county’s part-time jailer payroll line to cover increased staffing needs. Sheriff’s staff explained open positions remain and the transfer does not request additional county dollars, only a reallocation of existing payroll funds.

Recognition: The council also recognized Lieutenant Travis (last name Shively), noting he completed a leadership program through the Indiana Sheriffs Association and the National Command and Staff College.

Why it matters: The drone funding would expand the sheriff’s on-call aerial capacity, and an updated body scanner addresses detention security and contraband risk; both grant requests were approved to proceed and will return to the council if appropriations or matches become necessary.

Next steps: If grants are awarded, the sheriff’s office said it would return to the council for appropriation and ask for any needed bridging funds for reimbursement grants.