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Council adds internal auditor to waste/fraud reporting; approves two public-safety grant applications
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Summary
Council voted to have the internal auditor receive waste/fraud reports and approved two grants: a joint Knox County Edward Byrne JAG application for $156,082 and a $50,000 UVA innovation pilot to analyze overdose clusters; councilmembers debated policing vs. public-health leadership on overdose response.
The council approved a resolution asking the mayor to modify an executive order so the internal auditor receives copies of waste, fraud and abuse reports, reflecting audit-committee recommendations and discussion about codifying the process by ordinance in the future.
Separately, the council authorized the mayor to apply with Knox County for a 2025 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) of $156,082 to support criminal-justice operations, and approved a $50,000 no-match Innovation Pilot with the University of Virginia Center for Public Safety & Justice aimed at analyzing overdose clusters with social-network analysis tools.
Public commenter Rick Roach raised concerns about oversight and the mixing of private foundation, federal and local monies; Councilmember Parker and others questioned whether KPD should be the lead agency on opioid-response projects or whether Community Safety and Empowerment and public-health partners should lead. Chief Noel described the UVA pilot as an analytical first step to identify patterns; he and other council members said community partners such as the Metro Drug Coalition could be involved if analysis suggests a partnership.
All three measures carried on voice votes.
