The Sheboygan City Licensing Hearings and Public Safety Committee on an informational presentation and vote recommended that the City Council authorize acceptance and expenditure of a $24,112 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant from the Wisconsin Department of Justice to help reimburse expenses for the city’s shared drug unit.

The police chief told the committee the award “has been the same $24,112 as long as I can remember,” and said it is split roughly “14,000 of it comes from the federal government and 9,000 comes from the state,” money the department uses to reimburse overtime and other expenses shared with the county’s sheriff’s department.

Committee members asked whether the county also applies for or matches the grant and whether the amount could increase. The chief said the city serves as the lead agency to apply for and manage the grant and that in recent years other specialized state and federal grants for heroin and methamphetamine investigations have offset some costs previously covered by the Byrne funds. He added that any expenditures beyond reimbursement from the grant are typically split about 50/50 between the city and county.

A motion to recommend council adoption of the resolution was made and seconded by committee members recorded in the meeting minutes; the committee voted to recommend the measure.

The committee’s recommendation now goes to the full City Council for final action; the committee did not set an effective date for the resolution in the meeting record.