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San Juan approves multiple police grant applications including Operation Lone Star and victim liaison funding
Summary
City commissioners voted unanimously to approve several resolutions authorizing the police department to apply for and accept multiple grants for equipment and staffing; some grants require a local match and commissioners raised concerns about Operation Lone Star funding.
At the Oct. 8 meeting, the San Juan City Commission approved several resolutions authorizing the police department to submit and accept grants from the Texas Office of the Governor and related programs. The resolutions passed by voice vote with motions carried by the commission.
Approved applications included: a criminal justice grant application to acquire utility terrain vehicles (UTVs); a rifle-resistant body armor grant for the department; an application for the Operation Lone Star program seeking UTVs and mobile surveillance cameras; and a drone-and-shield grant for ballistic shields and a small tactical drone. Commissioners also approved an application for a crime victim liaison position under the Violence Against Women Act-related program; that grant requires a 30% local match, which the chief estimated would amount to about $10,800 annually for the city’s share of the position’s pay.
The chief described the armored-vehicle application as “a long shot” and said the requested vehicle would cost approximately $320,000 if funded. Commissioners voted to submit the application regardless.
One commissioner urged caution on the Operation Lone Star application, saying the program has been “detrimental to Valley cities, both financially and in terms of law enforcement trust in the community,” and asked the department to review the program details before accepting funds. The chief responded that the department’s request focuses on reducing criminal activity related to border crime and that the department can only detain people after observing border-crossing activity; he said the request is for UTVs and surveillance to support that objective.
All the grant resolutions presented at the meeting were approved by motion and voice vote. The motions carried with no recorded roll-call tallies in the meeting record.
