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Libby council approves police grant applications and a spectrometer purchase request

Libby City Council · February 11, 2026

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Summary

Council approved allowing the Libby Police Department to apply for a METAP tourism grant to help buy a patrol vehicle and voted to request county opioid-settlement funds to purchase an Apex R7 spectrometer (approx. $33,000) to improve officer safety and in-field drug identification.

The Libby City Council voted to allow the police department to apply for a Montana Emergency Tourism Assistance Program (METAP) grant and approved requesting county opioid-settlement funds to purchase a spectrometer for drug identification.

Police leadership told the council that METAP offers approximately $50,000 in this funding window and that the department would use capital improvement plan funds to make up the difference for a typical $75,000 patrol vehicle. The council voted to authorize the application; no specific vendor or vehicle model was discussed at the meeting.

Separately, the police chief described the Apex R7 spectrometer, an instrument the department said can identify controlled substances through plastic packaging without opening evidence. The chief explained that current practice requires chemical spot tests that can expose officers to substances and that a spectrometer would reduce risk while helping the regional crime lab by narrowing likely substances for testing.

The chief estimated the spectrometer cost at about $33,000 and requested the council approve applying for county opioid-settlement funds to cover the purchase. Councilors moved, seconded and voted to approve the request; the motion carried. The council did not identify specific county approval steps or confirm a delivery timeline during the meeting.

The meeting materials and chief’s remarks referenced prospective grant windows and a reconstituted DUI task force that may help secure future enforcement funding; those efforts are separate from the spectrometer request.