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Commission delays decision to redirect victims-assistance funds to sheriff's Bridge to Safety program
Summary
After a daylong presentation and extended debate, Knox County commissioners voted 6'5 to postpone a resolution that would redirect court-collected victims-assistance assessment funds to the sheriff's Victims Assistance Fund to support the county's Bridge to Safety program, ordering mediation and a 60-day follow-up.
Knox County commissioners on April 27 postponed for 60 days a resolution that would have directed court-collected victims-assistance assessment funds to the Knox County Sheriff's Victims Assistance Fund to support the newly launched Bridge to Safety program.
Criminal court clerk Mike Hammond told the commission the Bridge to Safety launched last October to provide a 24-hour helpline and coordinated victim services in partnership with law enforcement, Helen Ross McNabb, the YWCA and Legal Aid. "There is no charge for our services," Hammond said, adding that the program has helped more than 150 people so far and that every penny designated for victims would be used for direct assistance. He asked the commission to transfer those assessment funds to the sheriff's program and pledged quarterly accounting of expenditures.
Supporters of the transfer included former district attorney Randy Nichols, who said…
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