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Commissioners approve plan to add county drug-detective funded temporarily by forfeiture and SRO funds
Summary
Board approved a request to fund a drug-interdiction detective using asset-forfeiture funds and a transitional SRO funding swap, with the county general fund expected to assume the roughly $77,000 annual cost by July 1, 2027, and commissioners agreed to revisit the commitment if future budgets cannot sustain it.
McDowell County commissioners voted March 16 to approve a staffing request to add a detective focused on drug interdiction after staff clarified allowable uses of asset-forfeiture funds.
County staff told the board the original plan to pay the position from federal asset-forfeiture funds would not comply with policy for that use. The revised approach uses forfeiture funds and a one-year SRO (school-resource officer) funding arrangement to bridge costs for the coming fiscal year while staff develop a transition plan to move the position to the county general fund effective July 1, 2027. County staff estimated salary and benefits at roughly $77,000 annually.
A motion to approve the position and the funding approach passed on a voice vote. Commissioners said they supported the position but wanted an understanding that the board would revisit funding if next year's budget outlook made sustaining the position infeasible. One commissioner noted the detective would help reduce drug-related cases that contribute to child-welfare caseloads.
The motion passed without a recorded roll-call tally in the transcript; staff said they would work with the sheriff and sheriff-elect on the transition and funding plan.
