Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Forfeiture Fund topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council questions use of contraband-forfeiture funds as charities receive modest donations
Summary
Council members asked why roughly $94,000 in the police contraband-forfeiture fund resulted in relatively small donations to local charities; the city attorney summarized the Florida statute limiting permissible uses and requiring a minimum spend of designated proceeds in specified circumstances.
Council member Carroll pulled a consent item to ask about the city's contraband forfeiture fund, saying the account balance appeared to be about $94,000 and questioning why donated amounts to local charities were small.
The city attorney summarized the Florida statute governing contraband forfeiture proceeds: such funds may be used only for school resource officers, crime prevention, drug-abuse education or prevention, and other law-enforcement purposes the governing body deems appropriate, and they may not be used for normal operating expenses of the law-enforcement agency. The attorney noted that when a local agency receives at least $15,000 in a fiscal year, the agency must expend or donate no less than 25% of such funds for the support or operation of drug-treatment, drug-abuse education and prevention, crime-prevention, safe-neighborhood, or school-resource-officer programs; the law-enforcement agency retains discretion to designate recipient programs.
Council members asked staff to follow up and suggested scheduling a meeting with Chief Curry to discuss how the funds are allocated and whether the distribution could be adjusted to better support local nonprofits while remaining compliant with statute.
Next step: city staff and the police department will follow up with the council and consider bringing Chief Curry to a future meeting to explain the fund's disposition decisions and the nature of required statutory disbursements.
