District attorney’s office seeks two VAWA grants; county told grants would not affect general fund

The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office told commissioners it is applying for two grants funded through the Violence Against Women Act and administered by ADECA (Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs). One grant would continue partial funding for a prosecutor dedicated to domestic-violence prosecutions; the second, newly available grant would partially fund a prosecutor focused on sexual-assault prosecutions.

District Attorney office staff said both grants require a local match of $1 for every $3 received (a 25% local match, i.e., 75% federal), and the office intends to cover the match without drawing on the county’s general fund. The office also said it obtained a federal unique entity identifier but that a recent federal administrative shutdown had blocked completion of the final step in the application process.

Procedure at the meeting: Commissioners voted to waive rules so the district attorney’s office could submit the grant applications and proceed with the administrative steps necessary to apply. The motion to waive rules for the two grant items was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote; no roll-call tally was included in the provided transcript.

Ending: County staff and the district attorney’s office said the grants would be pursued and that, if awarded, the local match would be funded by the DA’s office rather than the county general fund.