MID-MO DRUG TASK FORCE SEEKS FUNDING ALTERNATIVES

LAKE OF THE OZARKS - Meth busters are hitting the streets and asking for
donations so they'll have another day on the job.

Budget cuts have left the Mid-Missouri Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force
operating on the bare minimum, Capt. Tony Wheatley said.

"We ran over the numbers a hundred times, probably hundreds, cutting
everything, and we're still running short," he said. "We don't feel good
about going to the public and asking for help, but we don't have any other
options."

The drug task force was formed in 2002 with 12 full-time agents who covered
2,500 miles and one office staffer supported by the Missouri National Guard.

Six years later, half the number of agents are working almost double the miles.

Wheatley said he's worried that within the next year, either the force will
be cut to just two officers or forced to shut down completely.

This past year, the MOSMART grant was rescued by state legislators after
being cut from the federal budget.

The grant pays for two officers' salaries on the task force, Wheatley said.
That's it.

To cover the other officers' salaries, vehicle costs, insurance, FICA,
supplies, training and everything else, Wheatley said funds from a yearly
formula grant is used.

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program is administered
through the U.S. Department of Justice.The federal grant requires
participating agencies to match 25 percent of the money.

Mid-Mo DTF's bill for 2008 is more than $61,000, Wheatley said.

The task force once relied on sheriff departments and other police agencies
to come up with the money. But budget cuts of their own left them with no
money to spare, he said.

"We hate going to the taxpayers and asking them for this. They expect their
taxes to cover all their enforcement needs," he said. "But we can't think
of anything else. We need the help to come from somewhere."

Overtime, office supplies, equipment and everything else considered extra
has already been cut from the budget. The grants are only used for
essentials: salaries, vehicles and fuel, he said.

For Wheatley, it is a constant struggle to make the budget numbers match.
Rising costs and lowering funds have only made it harder.

And when it's not one grant, it's the other.

He was first worried over the federal cut in MOSMART. Then the Byrne grant
for fiscal 2009 was cut completely. Now the task force can't even afford
this year's cash match.

Meanwhile, meth isn't going away.

Missouri leads the nation in meth labs seized. According to the Highway
Patrol, officials responded to, seized or investigated 1,285 meth-related
incidents in 2007.

Wheatley said he's pleased with the numbers.

High numbers mean officers are out there responding to and investigating
calls. High numbers means pharmacies are keeping track of
pseudoephedrine-containing medicines and reporting suspicious purchases and
smurfers.

Smurfing involves driving from pharmacy to pharmacy to buy cold medicine.
Pseudoephedrine is a popular ingredient used to cook meth.

"You can never completely stop a drug problem, you have officers out there
keeping it from running rampant and controlling everything," Wheatley said.

If the drug task force is forced to shut down, Wheatley is worried the
other offices won't have the time or budgets to pick up the slack.

"Without officers solely focused on this, we'll be taking steps back. Meth
could take over," he said.

That is why, he said, the task force feels it is necessary to hit the
streets for donations.

"We have to survive anyway we can," he said.

Mid-Mo DTF has six officers stretched between six counties: Cooper, Howard,
Miller, Moniteau, Morgan and Pettis.

For more information, contact the Mid-Missouri Multi-Jurisdictional Drug
Task Force at 573-378-5423.