Ronan holds onto grant
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RONAN — The Ronan City Council isn’t giving up yet on a matching grant to support the police department.
“The council voted to accept the COPS Hiring Grant but not to hire an officer at this time,” Ronan Police Chief Ken Weaver said of a special council meeting to address the issue on Dec. 5.
Ronan put a Public Safety Mill Levy on the November ballot to provide matching funds for the grant, but it failed by six votes with 317 voting against it and 311 voting for it.
“The city and the Ronan Police Department will again ask the voters to approve a Public Safety Mill Levy in the spring or fall of 2017 to fully accept the grant (if it passes).”
The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Orientated Policing Services and they require grant recipients to acquire matching funds to show community investment.
If the levy doesn’t pass again, the city would have to decline the grant, unless they can find different funding sources. The chief asked for a waiver on the matching fees but Ronan didn’t qualify.
Ronan was selected as one of four towns in Montana to receive the grant including Gallatin County Sheriff ’s Office, Park County Sheriff ’s Office, and Northern Cheyenne Tribe.
Ronan’s COPS Hiring Grant is for $124, 300. The grant would be divided into three years to provide funding to hire one officer and the town would need to provide the officer’s salary in the fourth year.
“The city is required to fund $41,400 during a three-year period and retain the officer for the fourth year,” Chief Weaver said.
The funds would also be used to help develop a competitive salary ladder to keep officers in the area long-term and to purchase public safety equipment for the department like uniforms, bulletproof vests and a patrol car.
