Rock County board approves ordinance creating crime-prevention funding board and $20 surcharge

The Rock County Board of Supervisors on a 14-10 roll-call vote approved an ordinance to create a local crime-prevention funding board and a $20 surcharge to be assessed on qualifying convictions.

The ordinance (listed on the agenda as creating Rock County Ordinance 3.221) and a companion motion to establish the board passed after more than an hour of questions from supervisors about who would be charged, how money would be collected and managed, and what kinds of programs might receive grants.

District Attorney Sanders, who sponsored the proposal, told supervisors the law that authorizes the surcharge directs that “50% of funds given every year should go to not for profit organizations with a specific stated purpose of preventing crime.” Sanders said the board would be responsive to applications and that specific projects funded would depend on local requests: “if the Beloit Police Department wants a thousand dollars to help a human trafficking task force, then I'm assuming that would be a yes.”

Supervisor Schwartz pressed for technical clarifications, asking whether the $20 surcharge would…