Mobile County officials seek COPS hiring grant as Pritchard police future remains uncertain

Mobile County officials moved to pursue a Department of Justice COPS hiring grant to help fund additional law-enforcement positions if the Pritchard police department dissolves and the county must assume policing responsibilities.

County staff Frank, representing the Mobile County Sheriff's Office, told commissioners the grant “will pay 75% of an employee for 3 years” and that, given the grant’s deadline on the 19th, the county needed to apply now to preserve eligibility. Frank said the county would be eligible to request funding for four positions and that the grant carries a 25% local match, which staff proposed putting into next year’s budget if the award is made.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the county is already incurring overtime costs tied to current coverage and that hiring additional staff could be less expensive than ongoing overtime. Frank said, “Jim, the overtime’s costing us more than what the personnel cost would cost us,” and framed the grant as a contingency to reduce future personnel costs if Pritchard’s department is absorbed by the county.

Details and next steps: Staff told the commission the COPS grant is separate from a Port Security equipment grant discussed later on the agenda. Commissioners asked about the timing and the local-match funding source; staff said the sheriff’s office would ask that the match be budgeted next fiscal year if the grant is awarded. No final appropriation or binding commitment was recorded in the public session; staff said the county could decline the award later if circumstances change.

The commission included this grant application among other consent items to be considered at the next full vote; a final budget allocation for the local match was not specified in the public record.