Montgomery County offered $1.25 million COPS grant to fund 10 deputy positions

Montgomery County received an award offer from the U.S. Department of Justice’s COPS Office that would provide $1,250,000 to fund up to 10 additional deputy sheriff positions, according to the award instrument included in the county’s meeting packet. The award letter, dated Oct. 10, 2025, notifies the county its application was approved and instructs local officials to accept the Award Offer in the federal JustGrants system within 45 days to obligate funds.

The grant package describes the FY25 COPS Hiring Program’s objective as increasing an agency’s community‑policing capacity and its project period runs from Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2030. The award document lists total project costs of $2,621,890, of which federal funds equal $1,250,000 and a required local match totals $1,371,890, or roughly 52.32% of the project cost. The award materials state the maximum federal share is up to $125,000 per officer position for the three‑year salary and fringe funding period.

The COPS Office sets several conditions recipients must meet before and during the award. The instrument highlights routine federal requirements — such as financial and programmatic reporting (quarterly SF‑425 financial reports and semiannual programmatic performance reports), cooperation with monitoring and audits, and maintenance of a current SAM.gov registration — and statutory compliance obligations including federal civil‑rights laws. The award also conditions obligations on compliance with 8 U.S.C. §1373 regarding exchange of immigration‑status information with federal agencies.

The document reiterates program rules specific to the CHP award: federal funds are intended to cover up to 36 months of entry‑level salary and fringe benefits for career law enforcement officers; recipients must retain the federally funded positions locally for a minimum period tied to the award’s retention requirement; and any modification to hiring categories, scope, or budget reallocation likely requires prior written approval from the COPS Office and cannot increase federal funding. It also requires the entity to enroll in the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) to draw funds.

If any of the award conditions are applicable to School Resource Officers, the COPS Office requires those officers to complete a 40‑hour basic SRO training from an approved provider and to submit a signed Memorandum of Understanding between the agency and school partners within 90 days before obligating funds for SRO positions.

The award letter is signed by Cory D. Randolph, COPS Acting Director, and lists Clara Pesiri as a Grant Manager contact (202‑532‑5648; clara.pesiri@usdoj.gov). The County’s meeting packet includes a recommendation from Regina Walker, Deputy Administrator, that the Grants Department recommends approving the award acceptance. The copy of the award instrument in the packet shows the entity acceptance fields for Montgomery County’s authorized officials are blank in the version provided, indicating acceptance by county officials had not been recorded in this document extract.

Next steps for the county, according to the award materials, are to designate the required grant administrators and authorized representative in JustGrants, confirm budget and match plans meet the award’s allowable cost provisions, enroll in ASAP, and complete any required assurances and certifications in the Justice Grants System within the 45‑day acceptance window. The award instrument warns that failure to comply with award conditions can lead to remedial actions including withholding funds, disallowing costs, or termination of the award.