The Public Safety and Emergency Services Committee voted to accept and appropriate $616,640 in state funding for the Gun and Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative to support the Orange County District Attorney’s office for the July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, fiscal period. The authorization was listed as legislative request 217 and advanced by a voice vote with no recorded roll call.

The grant, provided through the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services, will fund two criminal investigators, one executive assistant district attorney and one assistant district attorney who work with local police in Newburgh and Middletown on gun‑violence cases.

My name is Richard Moran. I’m the chief trial prosecutor here in Orange County, said Richard Moran, speaking to the committee. “The program works great here in Orange County. It’s actually been recognized nationally,” Moran said, adding that the district attorney has presented the county’s approach at national conferences. Moran told the committee the grant pays for investigators and prosecutors who work directly with police to fight gun violence in the county’s two cities.

A committee member asked whether staff funded by the grant do only gun‑violence work; Moran answered that while they do other tasks, “about 90% of what they do is gun violence.” A different committee member asked about a related program listed in the GIVE program materials; Moran said the referenced program is administered by VCAP and uses individuals with prior convictions to assist with outreach and to respond to shootings.

Committee records show the motion to accept the grant passed by voice vote. The committee did not provide a recorded vote tally, and no conditions or amendments to the grant acceptance were recorded in the meeting transcript.

The grant continues an existing county participation in the GIVE initiative; the committee did not take any separate action on program design or staffing beyond accepting and appropriating the funds.