$82K from federal law enforcement grant OK’d by Bloomington city council, part of interlocal deal

At its final meeting of the year on Wednesday, Bloomington’s city council approved its side of an interlocal agreement with Monroe County for the use of  $81,724 in federal money to support local law enforcement.

The money came from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program.

In 2021, of the $187 million awarded to state and local governments through the JAG program, about $3.5 million was allocated to the state of Indiana.

Of that $3.5 million, about $1.9 million was allocated to local units of government in the Hoosier state.  More than half of the $1.9 million went to the city of Indianapolis, which received $1.07 million.

Bloomington and Monroe County’s share for 2021 was $46,347, which the two governments will split on a 91-9 percentage basis. That proportion is based on the amount of violent crime and population in each of the two jurisdictions.

Bloomington will use its $42,176 for police radios for squad cars. Monroe County will use its $4,171 to buy tire deflation devices.

The interlocal agreement approved on Wednesday night also covered last year’s JAG allocation—the city and county did not ratify an interlocal last year. Last year’s amount was $35,377, which made for a total of $81,724 over the two years.

The amount received from JAG over the last decade has averaged about $33,000.

Based an annual a review of the resolutions on Byrne Awards approved by Bloomington’s city council, here’s how the money was to be spent:

Bloomington/Monroe County JAG Awards

• 2010 [Amount?] City to use all funds to purchase two vans for the Critical Incident Response Team.
• 2011 [$40,317] Bloomington and Monroe County to divide equally and use respective shares to buy polygraph machines and to train one person for each department. Amended in 2013 so that Bloomington was to buy emergency lighting systems (light bars) for installation on patrol vehicles instead of polygraph equipment and training.
• 2012 [$34,023] Bloomington to receive $16,698 for purchase of two eKiosks, one for police department’s HQ and the other for city hall. Also from that amount, Bloomington to use $5,199 for purchase of a secure server for access by BPD and Monroe County Sheriff to use Law Enforcement National Data Exchange. Monroe County to use remaining $17,325 to buy in-car cameras for patrol vehicles.
• 2013 [Amount?] Funds to be used towards the purchase of the NC4 Street Smart computer program. The 2013 JAG funds would not fully cover the cost of the computer program. Combined local funds of $124,145.00 are to be used to complete the purchase.
• 2014 [$28,826] Bloomington to use $23,637 towards the purchase of an iRecord Digital Video Audio Recording System for four interview rooms at the Police Department. Monroe County to use $5,188.68 to buy in-car cameras.
• 2015 [$23,860] Bloomington to use $19,088 towards purchase of additional body worn cameras. Monroe County to use $4,772 for purchase of an in-car camera.
• 2016 [$26,624] Bloomington to use $21,299.20 towards purchase of automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Monroe County to use $5,324 to buy digital recorders.
• 2017 [$27,691] Bloomington to use $21,598 towards the purchase of security cameras in the downtown area. Monroe County to use $6,093 towards tire deflation devices used in vehicle pursuit interventions.
• 2018 [$30,352] Bloomington to use $24,281 towards the purchase of vehicle mounted digital video cameras. Monroe County to use $6,071 towards purchase of vehicle pursuit intervention devices.
• 2019 [$33,506] Bloomington to use $26,805.00 to purchase a TruNarc handheld narcotics analyzer. Monroe County to use $6,701 for vehicle pursuit intervention devices.
• 2020 [$35,377] Bloomington to use $32,193 for police radios for squad cars. Monroe County to use $3,184 for tire deflation devices.
• 2021 [$46,347] Bloomington to use $42,176 for police radios for squad cars. Monroe County to use $4,171 for tire deflation devices.

2021 Indiana Local JAG Allocations