Committee approves $750,000 COPS grant to fund six deputy positions; amendment to make roles permanent fails

The Personnel and Compensation Committee voted to appropriate $750,000 in Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant funds to create six grant-funded Deputy Sheriff positions, with positions to be funded in stages and abolished automatically if grant funding ends as written in the request. Paul Ruszkiewicz moved the appropriation; the final motion carried as presented.

Meredith McGovern, Chief, Sheriff’s Office, described the federal grant as competitive and said it would fund six deputies staggered across 2026–2027. She urged the committee not to include language that would "automatically abolish" the positions at grant end, saying doing so would defeat the purpose because "it takes a year to get an officer through the academy and the field training process" and that building a patrol-ready officer can take longer: "it takes a village at least three years to raise a decent officer who is confident enough to work and make good decisions." McGovern said the grant gives five years to integrate positions into the budget.

Committee members debated the standard county clause that protects the county budget if grant funding ends. Legislator Kathy Stegenga moved to remove the abolishment clause; the amendment was seconded by Paul Ruszkiewicz but failed 5–2–1 (Stegenga and Ruszkiewicz in favor; Tobin, Hill, Scott, Essig and Hunter opposed; Sassi absent). James DiSalvo, Fiscal Director for the Sheriff’s Office, noted training and equipment costs, saying it "takes around $25,000.00 to train and equip a new deputy on the road by themselves." After the amendment failed, the committee approved the original appropriation request as presented.